The World is Bound in Secret Knots
by Klitch
Summary: Ever since the death of his parents, Kurogane has tended the Shrine at World's End alone. Until the day he meets a mysterious stranger hiding a dangerous secret...KuroFai, AU


**Notes:** Written for the Canon vs AU Olympics at KuroFai on Dreamwidth. Original prompt was "blood on the sand."

**-o-**

Kurogane stood in the rain and waited, holding loosely to his sword with one hand while watching the horizon for any sign of movement. Above him lightning flashed and the rain began to pour down even harder. Kurogane couldn't resist an irritated curse as he glanced backwards. The Shrine at World's End was nothing but an ominous black shadow behind him, barely able to be seen through the pounding rain.

Kurogane shifted irritably, trying his best to ignore the way the black sand was sticking to his boots. In front of him there was nothing but shoreline, the dark roiling storm clouds and something that might have been a sea, if someone had thrown a veil of spider webs over it. The surface of the Sea Beyond was usually flat and smooth as black glass, but today it rose high in crashing waves.

Lightning flashed again and Kurogane finally saw what he had been looking for: the shadow of something long and serpentine and very, very large, half-swimming and half-flying through the not-water as if in pursuit of something it couldn't see.

_Finally. _Kurogane couldn't stop the feral smile that curled his lips. He had been waiting for hours to get to the fun part.

The black shadow swam ever closer, pausing here and there and raising its head to sniff the air. Kurogane cursed to himself and hoped that the rain hadn't dulled the smell of the herbs he'd burned two hours prior, before the storm had started. If the damn thing didn't come close enough who knew how long he'd have to wait for the next one, and he was running out of time. He glanced back towards the shrine again, where he could just barely see the glass charms that hung above the door flying madly in the wind.

This had been easier, once. His father had caught the blood sacrifice and his mother had spoken the prayers and performed the rites, two people working in tandem to keep the old contracts fulfilled. Now, however they were long gone. Now there was only Kurogane, only Kurogane to make the sacrifice and say the prayers, only Kurogane to guard the borderlands and deal with whatever gods-cursed creatures might try to break through the barriers in order to attack the Palace of Day and Night where the Princess of the Sun and Princess of the Moon resided.

It was, all in all, a duty Kurogane performed gladly. He would certainly rather be out killing things than holed up in some dusty study signing papers and doing all manner of boring official busy work like the rest of the nobility. But there were still times that he wished his duties were rather less…._wet_.

The monster finally — _finally — _seemed to get itself straight and came barreling towards the shore. Kurogane closed his eyes and readied his sword.

Thunder rumbled ominously overhead and there was a loud crashing of waves as the creature leapt from the Sea and landed heavily on the beach. Kurogane opened his eyes in the exact moment it surfaced, his sword flashing out like a lightning bolt, a single powerful move that should have cut straight through the beast's neck.

The wet sand shifted unexpectedly beneath his feet as he moved, however, and Kurogane could only curse to the sky as the intended fatal stroke served only to make a nasty gash on one of the creature's four thick legs. It roared in pain, open mouth revealing sharp white fangs and a long pink tongue. It fell back slightly on its haunches, snake-like body bunching up in preparation to attack, red eyes rolling around in pain and irritation.

The serpent screamed again and darted forward, faster than Kurogane had expected with the unsteady ground. He was barely able to dodge in time, managing a single clumsy sword stroke as it passed. This one managed to only graze the scales along its torso and didn't slow it down a single bit. Kurogane quickly regained his footing as best he could and readjusted his stance. There was no time for this. He was already late as it was. If he didn't offer the damn thing in time…

But there was no point in thinking about that. Kurogane forced himself to ignore the stupid rain that was still pelting him and focused on the creature. It was moving slowly, favoring the injured leg, making a low growling noise in its throat. Its eyes were fixed upon Kurogane with the sort of expression he'd seen from a cat that had cornered a mouse.

"Just try it," Kurogane said darkly. The serpent roared again and charged at him, its lithe body cutting through the air as it dived for him. Kurogane took only a moment to be sure of his footing this time before making his own move. His sword flashed through the air again and the creature gave a terrible scream that cut off abruptly as Kurogane's sword passed through its neck. The head fell wetly to the ground a few inches away and the body crumpled into a heap, blood seeping into the wet sand.

"About damn time," Kurogane said, sheathing his sword and looking about for where he had left the rest of his supplies. He finally spotted the sad little bundle lying next to the remains of the fire he had set earlier. He hurriedly dug out a bone-white knife and a small wooden bowl, cursing and muttering to himself all the while.

"Had to storm today," he grumbled. "_Today_, of course. And demons had to attack the border and keep me busy all morning. Damned if I'll be late because of that."

He went to the creature's body and pushed it onto its side as best he could, revealing its fish-white belly. Kurogane quickly cut through the skin and let the blood drip into the bowl. When he'd collected all he needed he quickly got to his feet and hurried across the sand towards the Shrine, leaving the creature's remains to rot upon the shore.

The wind seemed to blow even harder as he approached. Kurogane grit his teeth and tried his best to keep his feet, but his boots slid through the wet sand and he nearly fell. He caught himself just in time but the bowl slipped from his hand, spilling all over the ground.

Kurogane swore and glanced upwards. Even through the thick coating of black clouds he could sense that the moon had nearly risen. If he didn't make the sacrifice in time…But there was no time to waste in worrying. He turned and hurried back to where he had left the serpent's carcass.

There was no ceremony to the cutting this time. He sliced it open as quickly as he could, not caring that the blood was spilling over his fingers. Holding the bowl close to his body, he made his way back to the shrine as quickly as he dared. The wind howled like a wolf as the rain beat hard against him. His fingers were growing numb from the cold and he grit his teeth against the stabbing pain in his joints. Nearly there.

The shrine was within sight now. Kurogane knelt for a moment in the sand in front of the ancient wooden steps. There was a thin red mark that could just barely be seen in the sand, a symbol of three interlocking circles. Carefully Kurogane poured a small bit of the blood over the lines, once, twice, three times, until the red stain stood out harshly against the black sand. He used one finger to smooth out the lines and then straightened, heading for the steps.

He had just placed one foot on the first wooden step when there was a loud crack of thunder and his second foot slid unexpectedly out from under him. The curse didn't even make it out of his mouth this time as his free hand flailed about wildly for a hold, catching onto the railing as his feet slid back down into the wet sand, smearing the edge of the first circle as Kurogane slowly lowered himself into a crouch, bowl held tight against his chest.. He stared irritably at the smudged line and dipped a finger back into the bowl of blood, smoothing the line as best he could. He slowly raised himself to his feet and climbed up the last few steps to the doorway, hoping the quick fix had been effective enough as he pushed the door open and fell forward into the Shrine.

The interior of the Shrine was eerily quiet. Against the far wall there was a small altar made of obsidian in the shape of a humanoid figure with its hands cupped around a small candle. The candle was carved out of an orange stone that glowed with magical light, illuminating the rest of the Shrine. Kurogane shut the door behind him as best he could and took a step towards the altar.

All around him there was nothing but row upon row of shelves, each containing a multitude of jars of all shapes and sizes. Some were plain and unadorned, looking like nothing so much as hunks of rock with stoppers in them, while others were richly ornamented with jewels or intricate carvings. Several were in the shape of demonic faces with grotesque expressions, while others were in the shape of humans, naked and lounging and made all of smooth white porcelain. All of them gave off a feeling of great age, despite the fact that there was not a single speck of dust upon them.

Kurogane straightened and couldn't help but stare at them as he went to the altar. Entering the Shrine at World's End had always given him an uneasy feeling, even as a child. Normal people might not have been able to understand, but Kurogane had lived here all his life and he knew why this place felt so unnerving. There was _power_ here, stronger power than even that of Princesses of the Sun and Moon, trapped and waiting in this room.

The Shrine at World's End was not a shrine to any religious figure. The Shrine at World's End was a prison of gods, a place where beings of celestial might who had caused nothing but pain and sorrow were to be entombed until the end of time.

A low rumble of thunder outside reminded Kurogane that his duty was not yet done. He knelt before the altar, pouring the blood from the wooden bowl into the wide stone basin that sat below the carving. Then he reached over and took the candle-stone from the carving's hands, dropping it into the basin and watching as it sank deep into the blood and disappeared. The shrine abruptly went dark and Kurogane took a deep breath as he began to recite the ancient prayer.

The words always came to him clumsily, but there was no helping it. His mother had died before choosing a successor and by that time his father had already been months in the grave. Kurogane was their only child. There was no one else who could speak these words.

As he spoke the prayers he could hear his mother's voice in his head. He had often sat with her as she read the rites so he had known exactly what to do when she died, but he had barely a single drop of her spiritual power. Kurogane was uncomfortably aware that the seals that bound this room were far weaker than they had ever been when she had lived. In his mother's lifetime, there had never been so much as a storm cloud on the day of the sacrifice.

He spoke the last word and opened his eyes. The candle stone sat in the center of the now-empty basin, shining brighter than ever. Kurogane couldn't stop the sigh of relief from escaping his lips as he stood, his legs feeling suddenly cramped. It was done. For now, at least.

As soon as he opened the door he was nearly blown back by the howling winds. He'd nearly forgotten about the storm but there was no way he was staying in this gods-cursed shrine all night. His own house was not far from the Shrine at World's End. He could walk, even in this rain. Kurogane pulled his black cloak tightly around his shoulders and made his way slowly down the steps.

Lightning flashed and Kurogane grabbed at the railing as the Shrine _lurched_, as if it were about to be blown down. It seemed to pass almost as quickly as it came, as if it had been nothing but a momentary fever dream brought on by the wind and rain. The wind started to die down slightly and Kurogane thought he could hear another sound beyond it, like someone tapping on a wooden door.

All his instincts screamed to walk away but even so Kurogane found himself walking back up the steps towards the door as if pulled by some invisible force. He reached out with one hand and slowly pushed the door open.

A gust of wind blew by him, cold as a winter's night, and for a moment he felt lightheaded. He blinked his eyes and shook his head once, then looked inside the Shrine. Everything seemed to be exactly as he had left it, the stone still shining brightly in the carving's hands and the jars ancient and untouched as always.

"Idiot," Kurogane muttered to himself. Why had he even come back up here? He needed to get out of the rain before he caught a cold. Where would the world be then, if he wasn't there to guard the borders? Without a second look he turned and left the Shrine, jogging lightly across the wet sand towards his home. He rounded a corner and could see it in the distance, an ancient building surrounded by tall wide-leaved trees which were nearly bent over from the strength of the storm.

Nearly there. The first thing he was going to do when he got inside was warm himself a bath and wash off all this stinking blood…

"Aah, look out!" A voice yelled from somewhere above him and Kurogane barely had time to look before _something_ plowed into him, sending him sprawling headfirst in the sand.

"Who the hell-" Kurogane's curse was cut off as he found himself staring straight into a pair of glittering golden eyes.

"Sorry about that." The stranger crouched on the ground beside him gave a contrite and utterly fake smile. "I was trying to see where I was, so I climbed a tree and the wind just blew me down! Luckily you were here to catch me, hmm, Mr. Black?"

"My name isn't 'Mr. Black," Kurogane said testily, dragging himself to his feet and noting with irritation that now he was not only wet but covered in clinging muddy sand as well. "What the hell do you think you're doing here? You're trespassing on sacred land."

"Am I?" The stranger cocked his head curiously but the smile never faltered. "I'm a bit lost."

"I don't care how lost you are," Kurogane said, crossing his arms. "Get out of here."

"I'd love to, but it's awfully dark and wet and spooky out here right now," the stranger said. "You wouldn't send someone out in the cold and wet like this, would you?" He gave Kurogane what was presumably meant to be a sad and pitiful look.

"That's not my problem," Kurogane stated coldly, turning away. "Get out of here. I'm going home."

"Home sounds nice." The other man clambered to his feet and immediately began trotting after Kurogane. "And _dry._"

"You are _not_ coming back with me," Kurogane stated, glancing back at him. A lightning strike briefly illuminated them and for just a moment Kurogane could see the full expression on the stranger's face. It was something old and longing and all of a sudden Kurogane couldn't find the will to leave him there in the rain. He shook his head, disgusted with his own weakness. "Fine. But just for tonight. Tomorrow, you will get out of here and go to wherever the hell you were headed."

"Yay!" The stranger gave a little cheer and hurried his steps so that he was next to Kurogane. "I knew you weren't as cranky as you look."

"What was that?" Kurogane snapped.

"Is that your house? I'm going ahead!" The stranger hummed some sort of lilting tune as he splashed through the mud and sand, letting himself into Kurogane's home as easily as if he owned the place. Kurogane growled quietly and wondered what mad thought had worked its way into his head that he'd ever considered letting this stranger into his home. As if to agree with him, the rain began to beat down harder.

Inside the house was damp but dry. The stranger sat himself down on one of the mats on the floor, trying in vain to ring the water out of his clothes. Kurogane went straight to a closet along the wall without any apparent difficulty despite the darkness of the room, pulling out three gray towels. He tossed one over the stranger's head and went to light one of the lamps that lined the walls.

"Dry yourself," Kurogane said curtly as he lit the first lamp.

"You really are a nice guy after all, Mr. Black," the stranger said in the stupid cheery tone that never seemed to leave his voice.

"Kurogane."

"Hmm?"

"My name is _Kurogane._ Not 'Mr. Black.'" Kurogane lit the last of the three lamps and turned to regard the stranger he could finally see clearly.

In the light the man looked even stranger than he had in the middle of the storm and darkness. He was tall and thin, with pale skin only made paler by the cold rain. He was running the towel through a mess of blond hair and his clothes were like none Kurogane could ever remember seeing. The man had just peeled off some sort of fluffy white and blue coat which he laid in a thoughtless heap on the ground next to him.

"Kuro-rin, huh?" the stranger said thoughtfully.

"Kuro_gane_," Kurogane repeated sharply. The stranger looked up at him through clear blue eyes and gave him an airy smile. Kurogane felt momentarily taken aback. He had been certain those eyes had been gold before but now they were as clear a blue as any sky. _Probably just a reflection from the lightning,_ Kurogane decided. "Well? Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?"

"My name's a little long," the stranger said with an easy shrug. "You can call me Fai. And I told you, I'm lost."

"You'd have to be awfully damn lost to end up here," Kurogane said, glaring sharply down at him. Fai met the gaze with nothing but serene cheerfulness. "Nobody just 'ends up' at World's End because they're _lost._"

"World's End, huh?" Fai looked around curiously. "Kuro-sama has an awfully nice place for being at World's End."

"Cut the act," Kurogane said. "No one's that big of an idiot, to get to World's End without realizing it."

"But I'm really a very big idiot," Fai said, smiling and leaning backwards against the wall. When he smiled like that Kurogane could almost believe him. "I'm not from around here, you see. I'm traveling somewhere and I was just trying to figure out where I was, see, so I climbed the tree to get a better look. Lucky thing Kuro-tan was there to bravely catch me when I fell! So heroic!"

He was definitely being teased now, Kurogane decided. Well, he didn't have to deal with this.

"You _fell_ on me," Kurogane stated. "I didn't catch you. There's an empty bedroom through that door you can use for the night. Then first thing tomorrow I'm getting you out of here, understand? I don't care where you're headed to or where you're from. That's none of my business. Once morning comes, you're out of my hair, got it?"

"Of course," Fai said with a perfectly trustworthy sort of smile that suggested Kurogane was going to have to drag him out by the neck. Kurogane sighed and turned away.

"I'm going to take a bath. You dry off and go to bed." Without another word Kurogane turned and left the room.

"Ooh, a bath sounds nice." Following him. The idiot was _following_ him now, hands behind his back and the towel still on his head.

"I said '_go to bed,_'" Kurogane said tersely. He was not going to lose his temper. He was not going to give this idiot that satisfaction.

"But I'm all wet and cold," Fai whimpered dramatically. "Surely a good host offers his guest the bath first?"

"I'm not your host or anything else!" Kurogane snapped.

"Scary!" Fai squeaked, an exaggerated look of fear on his face. Kurogane kept determinedly walking forward.

It seemed that the idiot had gotten the message, for now at least, as Kurogane managed to reach the washroom without being poked, chattered to or otherwise bothered by his unwelcome guest. He permitted himself a small sigh of relief as he went to warm up some water for the bath.

He filled the bath and went to retrieve a towel from the closet opposite the door when a white shape slipped by him.

"You warmed it up? How _thoughtful_, Kuro-sama!"

"You _again_?" Kurogane turned to snap at him, then paused. Fai had the towel draped over one arm and had lowered his shirt half off, revealing part of his bare back. Kurogane had the momentary glimpse of an intricate tattoo in the shape of a bird before the blond turned to face him, hands behind his back, smiling blandly.

"Well, it's cold outside, isn't it?" Fai said cheerily. "And Kuro-sama's so big and strong, he's probably used to this weather and doesn't need to warm up. But I might catch a cold, so it's really best if I go first, isn't it?" He paused and the smile was suddenly unexpectedly predatory. "Unless Kuro-tan would rather we bathe _together_…"

"Why the hell would anyone want to share a bath with you?" Kurogane said darkly. He paused, considering his next words. "Your back."

"Back?" Fai said curiously, all innocence.

"What kind of marking was that?"

"Marking?" Fai repeated, cocking his head to one side. There was something about the gesture and the look on his face that seemed off, somehow, like someone performing a practiced line from a play. "What marking?"

"Turn around." Fai continued to stare at him, so Kurogane grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around bodily. Fai gave a little squeak and then started laughing. "Kuro-sama, you beast! I didn't know you were this kind of person."

"Shut up!" Kurogane snapped and desperately tried to convince himself that the sudden flushed feeling in his face was because of the steam from the bath. He pulled at Fai's shirt, trying to get a look at the other man's back.

There was nothing but smooth, unmarked white skin. Kurogane pushed Fai roughly away, shaking his head.

"Poor Kuro-sama," Fai said, making a 'tsk' noise in his throat. "Maybe you've caught a cold. You should go lie down. Don't worry, I'll make sure the bath isn't wasted!"

"Wait a minute, you bastard-" There was really no point in it. Fai slipped past him and into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Kurogane stared darkly at the closed door, trying to figure out at what point he had lost control of the conversation.

First golden eyes, now a tattoo that didn't exist. Maybe he _was_ coming down with something.

With one last reproachful look at the closed door Kurogane turned and stalked back to his room. The sooner he fell asleep, the sooner morning would come and he could get rid of the idiot who had invaded his house.

**-o-**

When Kurogane woke up he had the vague feeling that something was wrong. The quick cold shower he had taken before bed had done nothing to improve his mood and he had gone to bed still wet, cold and bad-tempered.

But it was morning now, at least, which meant he could kick out the idiot. Kurogane was vaguely surprised that Fai had not come swanning into his room at dawn's first light demanding another warm bath or breakfast or who knew what else. In fact, the house seemed far too quiet somehow, even though Kurogane was used to being the only person there.

That had been the hardest thing, after his parents had passed. It had taken years before the quiet house felt like a comforting norm rather than a too-quiet alien other.

As soon as he was dressed Kurogane made his way to the room he had let Fai use, not even bothering to knock as he pulled the door open.

"All right, it's morning, now will you-" Kurogane stopped as he realized he was talking to nothing. The room was completely empty save for the futon on the floor and the lump of a fluffy coat still piled in one corner. Fai was nowhere to be seen.

Kurogane momentarily wondered where Fai had gone before deciding he didn't care. Enough that the nuisance was gone. He slammed the door shut and went to retrieve his sword. Now that the sun was up he needed to go and check the extent of the damage the storm had left.

Outside the house was an absolute mess. Fallen tree limbs and branches were everywhere, strewn about by the winds and rain. He was lucky the house had remained undamaged. Kurogane half-heartedly picked at a few stray branches, tossing them away to clear a path down to the beach. The waters of the Sea Beyond were as calm as always now, nothing but a plane of flat glass lined with thin cracks that made the eyes hurt if stared at long enough. As he made his way along the shoreline towards the Shrine Kurogane noted that the carcass of the beast he had killed the night before had disappeared, probably swallowed up by the crashing waves of the Sea.

"Kuro-tan! Yoo hoo!" Fai's voice caught his attention and Kurogane suppressed a growl as he looked up to see Fai running across the sand towards him. As the blond got closer Kurogane was surprised to see that the man had left behind not only his coat, but all of his strange foreign clothes. Somehow he had gotten hold of a dark blue furisode decorated with a pattern of white birds.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Kurogane said bluntly as Fai ran up to him.

"Do you like it?" Fai spun around proudly. "I found it in one of the closets. I was awfully warm in my old clothes, so I thought this would be better."

"Last night you were cold," Kurogane grumbled. "Take that thing off and put your stuff back on. You're leaving."

"So _mean_," Fai said, pulling his hands close to his face and giving Kurogane a wide-eyed look of utterly fake misery. "You'd turn me out into the wilderness with nowhere to go and no idea where I am?"

"_Yes,_" Kurogane said through gritted teeth.

"This is a very nice beach." Without missing a beat Fai turned around and started strolling casually along the shoreline as if Kurogane had never spoken. "This sand is so strange, though. It seemed black last night." In the light of the sun, the sand of the last beach glittered in hundreds of colors, reds and pinks and oranges, shining like a collection of small jewels.

"It was," Kurogane told him. "This isn't just any beach. I told you, this is the end of the world."

"I thought the end of the world would look more dramatic," Fai said thoughtfully, reaching down to run a hand through the water.

"Don't!" Kurogane moved without thinking, sweeping forward the grab Fai's wrist before it could touch the water and pulling him back. "You idiot, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Fai just looked at him uncomprehendingly. Kurogane sighed.

"That's not the ocean, idiot. That's the Sea Beyond. If a human touches it, they'll be sucked in by it."

"Really?" Fai looked far too interested for someone who had almost been eaten by a sea.

"That's why you need to get out of here," Kurogane said. He was suddenly uncomfortably aware that he was still holding Fai by the wrist and immediately let go of him, turning as if to walk away. "This sort of place isn't safe for idiots."

"It's not safe for anyone." Fai's voice was unnaturally serious and the tone made Kurogane pause. When he turned to look, however, the blond's face was as blithely cheerful as always. "Like that shrine over there. That's a dangerous place, right?" He pointed straight at the Shrine at World's End.

"How do you know that?" Kurogane demanded.

"Intuition." Fai shrugged. "It's just something I've always been able to do. There's a big, big power in that place, right? Something too dangerous to be let out."

"Which is why _you_ need to stay out of it," Kurogane said. "Didn't you say there was somewhere you needed to go?"

"Did I?" Fai said with maddening calmness. "Well, it won't do me any good to just keep walking without having any directions, right? So I thought maybe Kuro-sama could help me out."

"_Kurogane_ can't," Kurogane said pointedly. "So go away and stop bothering me."

"Bothering?" Fai gave him the fake wounded look again, all big eyes and quivering lips. "How could you say that, after all the things we've shared?"

"All the _what_ we've shared?" Kurogane snapped.

Fai opened his mouth to say something else that would undoubtedly be both ridiculous and incredibly stupid, then stopped as something small and white and rabbit-shaped popped into existence right in front of them.

Kurogane raised an eyebrow, holding out a palm for the creature to jump on. A white Mokona could only mean one thing: a summons from the Princess of the Sun. Sure enough, the creature opened its mouth and the unsure voice of a young girl rang out.

"Um, Kurogane-san-"

"You don't need to use the honorific," a smug male voice interrupted. "You're the _princess_, remember?"

"I'm being polite!" the girl's voice spoke again with a tone of childish imperiousness. "Um, anyway, Kurogane-san, if you could come to the Palace of Day and Night I have something we need to talk to you about. It's really important, so come right away, all right?" A pause. "That's all. Um. So…" Her voice trailed off uncertainly. The Mokona bobbed its head once in a mock bow and then disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.

"Good trick, Kuro-rin!" Fai clapped appreciatively and Kurogane glared at him. He'd almost been lucky enough to forget the idiot was still here.

"It's not a trick," Kurogane said. "That's a summons from the Princess of the Sun." He turned away from Fai and quickly began walking down the beach back in the direction of the house.

"Ah, wait for me!" Fai hurried to keep in step with him. "A summons from the Princess, huh? Are you in _trouble_?" Fai grinned widely. "Kuro-tan's in trouble, isn't he? You're getting a scolding, aren't you?"

"I am not!" Kurogane paused for a calming breath. He was not doing this again, not now. He had far more pressing matters to deal with than a stupid stranger who refused to leave. "Something must be wrong with the borders. It's my job to keep the barriers. She'd only summon me if it there was an emergency."

"So how do we get to the Palace of Day and Night?" Fai asked.

"_We_ are not going anywhere," Kurogane said pointedly, looking Fai straight in the eyes. "_You_ are going to go back to the house, get out of the clothes and pack your things to leave while I go meet the Princess."

"But you might need me!"

"Why the hell would I _ever_ need you?" They had reached the house, but Kurogane walked past it without stopping. Fai followed him undauntedly.

Kurogane continued down the beach until he reached an area marked by hundreds of small stones. In the center of the sand there were two rings created by glittering rocks, one formed all from orange-colored stones and the other from dark midnight blue stones. Kurogane pulled a small bag off his belt and opened it, scattering silver powder from it all along the edges of the orange circle.

"What are you doing now?" Fai asked with an air of professional curiosity.

"The Palace is in a place that can't be reached by normal means," Kurogane said off-handedly, concentrating hard on keeping his lines as clean as possible. "This is how I get there when I'm called."

"An enchantment circle," Fai said, sounding vaguely impressed. "A very old spell, though. Older than you." Kurogane looked up sharply and Fai gave him an offhand shrug. "Intuition."

"Whatever," Kurogane said, straightening and returning the bag to his belt. As he moved to step into the circle he gave Fai a severe look. "_Stay there._ Understood? Don't touch anything, don't poke anything, don't—don't _move_ at all, until I get back. Got that?"

"Of course," Fai said in utterly false tones that made Kurogane's head hurt. There was no help for it, though. He couldn't ignore a direct summons from the Princess. Giving Fai a last wary look, Kurogane pressed his hands together and began to recite the chant he'd been taught to activate the circle. As he closed his eyes, the last thing he saw was Fai waving happily at him.

He could see a green light glowing even behind his closed eyelids and a gust of wind blew by as Kurogane spoke the last word. This was the part he hated the most. There was the sudden uncomfortable feeling of being airborne, of being tossed about in the sky and thrown by the wind and he gritted his teeth against the feeling, trying to keep the image of the palace in his mind. Another gust of wind blew by him then and there was a strange jerk as if he'd been pulled back on course. The feeling of air and wind slowly died down and suddenly he found himself crouching on his hands and knees in the dirt. Kurogane opened his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. Alone, at last. He straightened, looking around at the place he had landed in.

It was a glorious garden, filled with colorful flowers of all types and trees with wide star-shaped leaves. He was standing in the middle of a ring of wide flat gray stones, each marked with an unfamiliar sigil. Surrounding the garden were the smooth white stone walls of the Palace of Day and Night.

"It _is_ awfully high up, isn't it?" The already far too familiar voice made Kurogane's stomach drop. He turned slowly to see Fai standing just behind him, leaning on a rock. The blond waved brightly to him.

"What the hell did I _just say_?" Kurogane growled.

"Hmm? Oh that." Fai waved a hand as if Kurogane's order was nothing more than a leaf in the wind. "You looked like you were having trouble keeping the spell stable, so I thought I'd help. I'm good at that sort of thing."

"No one's just 'good at that sort of thing,'" Kurogane said sharply. "That spell was laid in place by powerful priestesses who were my ancestors."

"It's not really a big deal," Fai said, smile impenetrable. "I told you, it's just something I can do."

It was clear that following this line of questioning was going to lead him nowhere, so Kurogane let it pass. He grabbed Fai by the arm and dragged him inside the palace.

"Kuro-pon, that hurts!" Fai whined as Kurogane dragged him down the winding hallway. Several servants passing by stopped to stare at them and Kurogane kept moving resolutely forward.

"If you're going to complain, listen when someone tells you to do something next time," Kurogane stated. "You can't come with me to see the princess, so I'm going to find a place for you to wait and this time you are going to _stay there_, understand?"

"Whatever you say, Kuro-rin," Fai said, which did nothing to reassure Kurogane that his order would actually be followed this time.

Kurogane dragged Fai down another hallway and then through a wide arched doorway into an enormous room lined everywhere with hundreds of bookshelves.

"Kurogane." A dry voice caught there attention as a black-haired woman came walking slowly over to them holding a rather large and dusty-looking tome in her hands. She raised an eyebrow at Fai, who waved. "I see you have a guest, hmm?"

"Not exactly," Kurogane growled.

"Nice to meet you," Fai said brightly, his smile remaining steady despite his failing attempts to pry Kurogane's hand off his wrist. "I'm Fai."

"Yuuko," the woman said, inclining her head to him. "I'm the head archivist here." She gave Kurogane a long appraising look and smiled slightly but said nothing.

"I need a favor," Kurogane said slowly, as if forcing the words out.

"_Oh?"_ Yuuko sounded far too pleased and Kurogane momentarily wondered if maybe it wouldn't be better to just tie a rope around Fai's neck and secure him to the nearest tree. "That's a rare request, coming from you."

"The princess wants to see me," Kurogane said. "I need someone to keep an eye on _this_ idiot while I'm gone. Make sure he doesn't wander off."

"I wouldn't do that," Fai protested lightly and Kurogane silenced him with a dark glare.

"Just…keep him occupied," Kurogane said, pushing Fai towards Yuuko and turning to leave.

"My pleasure," Yuuko said with a smile on her face that suggested she was having interesting thoughts on the matter that she didn't plan on sharing. "He can help Syaoran-kun with his research."

"Research?" Kurogane repeated. "What's the kid trying to find now?"

"You'll find out when you talk to the princess," Yuuko said mysteriously. She gave Kurogane a small wave and began to lead Fai back into the stacks. "Have fun, Kurogane."

"I'll see you after your scolding, Kuro-tan!" Fai added lightly. Kurogane made a 'hmph' noise and walked out of the library with a pointed lack of response.

Kurogane made his way to the throne room with minimal difficulty, stopping only occasionally to be sure that no, no blond idiots were following along behind him. Guards were waiting for him as he approached and led him inside.

The throne room of the Princess of the Sun was wide and bright, colored all in golds and reds, with large oval-shaped windows that let the sun flow in from all directions. The throne itself sat atop a dais on the far wall in front of a brightly woven tapestry depicting the story of the birth of the sun goddess.

Sitting regally upon the throne was a young girl with brown hair and bright eyes — Sakura, Princess of the Sun.

Or at least she _had_ been sitting regally until Kurogane entered, at which point her demeanor faltered and she waved happily to him.

"Kurogane-san!" She clapped a hand over her mouth. "I'm not supposed to do that, right?" She coughed delicately and tried her best to straighten her posture. "Ahem. Kurogane of World's End. We welcome you to the Palace of Day and Night."

"Princess." Kurogane performed a sweeping bow and Sakura fidgeted nervously, having never liked to see people she considered friends treat her as someone above them. "You summoned me?"

"Yes." Sakura nodded. She glanced over at the two advisers who stood on either side of the throne.

"We received word this morning." Touya, Sakura's adviser and older brother, stepped forward holding a scroll, which he held out for Kurogane to look at. "The dragons have begun to leave the western mountains."

"What?" Kurogane took the scroll and swiftly ran his eyes over its contents. "That's not possible. They haven't moved-"

"In over a thousand years," Sakura's second adviser, Yukito, finished for him. "We know."

"And they're headed _here?_" Kurogane shook his head. "We have a treaty with them, right?"

The two advisers shared a look as Sakura gave him an apologetic shrug completely unfitting for a princess.

"Right?" Kurogane repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"We _thought_ we did," Touya muttered, clearly annoyed.

"We haven't been able to find it," Yukito explained. "Syaoran-kun and Yuuko-san have been combing the archives all morning. We have contracts with so many of the lands outlying the kingdom and the vast majority were signed hundreds of thousands of years ago. The dragons have never been a problem for us, so there's never been any need to find that particular treaty."

"But now…?" Kurogane said slowly. Yukito and Touya exchanged another look before Yukito replied.

"Her Highness has had a dream."

Kurogane turned his gaze to Sakura, who closed her eyes. Her small hands gripped the armrests of her throne tightly.

"It wasn't clear," she said slowly. "I saw dragons, flying all around the mountain tops. One of them was holding something and then a wind came by and took it away. The wind split in two and the dragons took part of the wind away, and then the second wind blew by and they all fell out of the sky. There was a person with dark hair standing in the snow and then there were dragons blocking out the sky and red blood on black sand. And over and over again, I kept hearing words: 'We want the wind back. We want our wings again.'"

"What does all that mean?" Kurogane asked, crossing his arms. Sakura just shook her head.

"We're really not sure," Yukito said. "But it must have something to do with why the dragons have left their home after all these years."

"Yuuko and the brat have been researching the phrase in her dream," Touya said. "The part about the wind and their wings. The dragons were flying in the Princess's dreams."

"Dragons can't fly." Kurogane had never seen an actual live dragon but it was well known that dragon wings were useless.

"Not now, they can't," Yukito said, "but there are many old stories and works of art where they can. Even here." He pointed to the sun tapestry behind the throne, at an image of a dragon with its wings spread wide flying as it tried to grasp the sun from the sky. "It could be that it's just wishful thinking on the part of the makers — that dragon do have wings, so why not write a tale where they can fly — but there are so many, stretching back generation upon generation."

"Basically, it's common knowledge _now_ that dragons don't fly," Touya concluded, "but that doesn't mean it's always been that way. Something could have happened that took their flight away…something that has to do with our kingdom and the treaty we made with them."

"All right, so dragons once could fly," Kurogane said. "What does any of that have to do with me?"

"Nothing, right now," Touya said. "Once they reach the borders, it's got _everything_ to do with you."

"Do you think you can hold the barriers against them?" Yukito asked him. Kurogane paused, considering.

"Frankly, I have no idea," he said flatly. "I've never had to hold the borders against anything like that. But I'm always clearing out small fry demons along the borderlands and if those things can slip through the barriers from time to time there's no way I'll be able to keep anything stronger out." He placed a hand on the hilt of his sword and gave a slight smile. "But if they try, I'll be happy to go out and get rid of them for you."

"If you can," Touya said, looking unimpressed. "Dragons are in a completely different class from demons."

"Everything dies if you bury a sword in it deep enough," Kurogane stated. "So, how long do we have?"

"We can't really say," Yukito told him. "Somehow they keep evading all of our attempts to track them. Our magic doesn't seem to work on dragons. It may be months until they reach us, it may be less…"

"Soon," Sakura said unexpectedly. All her usual energy was suddenly stilled and there was something more ancient in its place. "Very soon."

**-o-**

Kurogane was lost in thought as he made his way back towards the library. He had known that something strange must have been happening or he wouldn't have been summoned to the palace so suddenly, but he had never expected dragons.

What little he knew of dragons came from his father's old books. His grandfather had apparently slain a dragon once in honorable combat and offered its blood up as a sacrifice to the Shrine. The blood had caused the wards to be strengthened immeasurably for the duration of his grandfather's life, or so the story went. His father had always been fond of retelling the story of the great battle but whenever Kurogane asked if it was really true his mother had patted him on the head and steered him away.

Thinking of his mother made Kurogane think of the spells that guarded the borders and his hands clenched irritably around the hilt of his sword. Technically it was the job of the priestess to strengthen the spells that secured the kingdom's borders, and it was the strength of the priestess that directly determined the power of the barriers. In his mother's day it would have been unthinkable for even major demons to pass into the kingdom. But now that there was no priestess to guard the Shrine at World's End the job had fallen to the last priestess's only descendant: Kurogane. And his spiritual power, he was well aware, was very thin. The minor demons and pests that he killed on a regular basis along the border's edge were proof of that. If his power wasn't even enough to keep out demons his barriers would be like nothing more than paper against something like a dragon.

_Everything dies if you stick a sword in it deep enough._ His own proud words rang in his head and he steeled his resolve. Very well then. He wouldn't be able to keep the dragons out, true, but that didn't mean he couldn't stop them. If they came, he would deal with them the only way he knew how: with a sword in his hand.

When he reached the library, the first thing he noticed was the silence. The library was usually silent, of course, but Kurogane had already learned that a silent place was probably not a place where Fai was. Though perhaps that meant he'd gotten lucky and the bastard had finally wandered off on his own to wherever the hell it was he was supposed to be traveling to.

Kurogane made his way through the stacks until he came upon a circular gray table in the center of the library. A brown-haired boy was seated at the table, his head buried in a book nearly as tall as he was. Stacks of similarly ancient books decorated the table in front of him.

"Find anything helpful, kid?" Kurogane asked as he strode up. Syaoran looked up in surprise, obviously having been completely unaware of his presence.

"Oh! Kurogane-san." Syaoran ducked his head respectfully. "You heard about the dragons? Yuuko-san went to look in the archives on the lower levels. That's where the oldest treaties are kept, but no one's gone through them in centuries."

"So what are you doing?"

"I'm looking for references to the dragons' wings. I've found a few-" He leaned over the table and slid a few books forward. "In this one, and here…nothing concrete, though, all passing mentions. It seems like they once could fly, but that power was taken away by someone…I think maybe a god, but the books haven't been clear. I've still got more books to go through, though." He sighed and closed the book he was holding, setting it aside and reaching for another as he looked curiously up at Kurogane. "You came to help? Research doesn't seem to suit you, Kurogane-san."

"I'm not here for that," Kurogane said. "I had a guy who followed me to the palace. I left him here with Yuuko."

"Oh, Fai-san!" Syaoran nodded. "He's been a big help to me so far. He knows a lot about the old languages. I wouldn't have been able to get through some of these books without him. Where did he come from?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Kurogane said. "So? Where is he now?"

"I sent him to find another book for me." Syaoran glanced backwards towards the stacks. "I'm not sure how long ago, I was engrossed in my book…"

"Don't worry about it, kid," Kurogane said when Syaoran moved to rise. "Keep researching. I'll go retrieve the idiot."

Syaoran nodded in reply and opened his book, immediately sinking back into his research haze. Kurogane left him to it and went to find Fai.

Like much of the palace, the library was larger inside than it looked on the outside. As Kurogane wandered deeper and deeper through the rows upon rows of shelves he found himself wondering if perhaps he should just leave Fai there before he got lost himself. Yuuko and Syaoran would probably find him before he starved. Probably.

He stepped out from behind one large shelf and suddenly found himself facing the library's far wall. Unlike the other three walls of the room, this one did not have so much as a single bookshelf pushed against it. Instead it was home to a series of large elaborate tapestries that blanketed the wall from corner to corner, each a different shade of blue lined in shimmering golden thread. Having never come this deep into the library, Kurogane was momentarily taken aback by the size of it. He found himself moving closer, trying to make out what sort of story was being told by the series of delicately rendered figures that decorated the fabric.

"I didn't know Kuro-sama was so interested in art." The voice was really too familiar after too short a time and Kurogane tore his eyes away from the tapestries to look at Fai, who was standing nearby with one hand on the tapestry hanging in front of him. "It's a very pretty rendering of the story, though, isn't it?"

"Where the hell have you been?" Kurogane asked, ignoring the question.

"In the library, right where you told me to be," Fai said with wounded innocence as he moved to stand at Kurogane's side. "I was looking for a book for Syaoran-kun — you saw Syaoran-kun? He's a very diligent child, I'm impressed - and I got a little lost, and then I found this." He touched a hand to the tapestry again. "It's interesting, isn't it?"

"I suppose," Kurogane said, shrugging.

"Do you know what story it's depicting, Kuro-rin?"

"Story?" Kurogane repeated, curious despite himself.

"You don't know? And you live near a shrine, bad Kuro-pi!" Fai traced a line of gold thread with his finger. "This is the story of the creation of the world."

There was something hooded in Fai's eyes and Kurogane almost thought he saw another flash of gold before Fai lowered his head and let his bangs hide his expression. Kurogane intended to grab him by the wrist and drag him away, but there was something lulling and hypnotic in Fai's voice that kept him rooted to the spot.

"First there was only one god," Fai murmured, his hands touching the woven image of a figure with long hair and white wings. "She was very lonely, so she created the land out of her own body. She shaped the plants and the sky and the ground, and then she used dirt and clay to make all the animals and birds. Her right eye became the sun and her left eye the moon, and between them both she could always watch over that which she had created."

Fai's hands ran over the image of the sun and the moon, covering them as if they were eyes that he did not wish to have look upon him.

"But she was still so lonely," he continued. "So she took out strands of her long hair and created other gods, gods of wind and sea, gods of earth and plants and sky, and let them all run free as they would. But once set free not one of those gods remained with her, choosing instead to play about in their own domains or create their own great works, dragons and demons and mythical beasts, or even other gods of their own."

He moved on to the next tapestry, finger following what looked to be a river made of red thread.

"So at last the god decided to create one last great work. She gathered together earth and clay, as she had when she made the animals. This time, however, she bound the creation with drops of her own blood and so humans were born." Fai's finger remained still over the river of blood. "The humans went forth with the god's blood in them and began to rule over all the lands, bending the animals to their will, taming the seas and tilling the land. And sometimes they found themselves at odds with the gods who tried to destroy them with floods and winds. Because those gods were only created from strands of hair, you see, and some of them could not stand the idea that humans had been given the precious gift of the first god's blood. The lesser gods had no such blood, after all. Gods don't bleed unless they're dying. And gods can never change, no matter how much they try, and they can never forget wrongs done to them. That's why humans revere the gods and present them sacrifices and also why humans alone can trap gods and control them, because humans will always have those precious things that gods lack."

Fai went silent then, and Kurogane eyed him critically.

"I thought you weren't from this land," he said sharply. The sound of his voice seemed to release Fai from whatever trance he had been in and the blond smiled breezily.

"Aren't the legends the same in all the lands?" He gave a careless laugh and took a dancing step backwards as if all he had just done was recite a child's nonsense rhyme. "Don't look so suspicious like that, Kuro-pi. You'll get wrinkles."

Kurogane snorted and turned away from him, walking back into the stacks. Fai quickly hurried after him.

"Ah! Don't leave me behind, Kuro-rin!"

"Why not?" Kurogane grumbled. "I thought you were lost. There are maps here. Go find one and leave me alone."

"But that's no fun," Fai complained. "I wanted Kuro-rin to help me. I couldn't possibly find what I'm looking for all by myself in this big place, and Yuuko-san and Syaoran-kun are too busy with important things to deal with an idiot like me, right?"

Kurogane stared at Fai's proud, too-satisfied smile and had to grudgingly admit that, for once, the idiot had a point.

"All right, come on. But as soon as we figure out where the hell you're supposed to be, you're out of my hair, understand?"

"Of course," Fai said happily and Kurogane wondered why he even bothered to ask such things when all he was inevitably going to get in reply were irritatingly cheerful lies.

He was half-leading, half-dragging Fai towards the garden where they had arrived when Kurogane felt a strange sensation come over him. It was like an itch that couldn't be scratched, hovering insistently in the corner of his mind. Kurogane gave an annoyed sigh and changed course.

"Kuro-rin?" Fai looked at him curiously. "Didn't we come in back that way? Or are you lost?"

"I'm not lost!" Kurogane snapped. "We're not going back the World's End just yet. I have other business to take care of and _you_ are going to come along and stay out of the way." He didn't even bother to listen for a reply this time around as he made his way unerringly towards another section of the palace. Dragging the idiot with him was definitely going to be a pain, but at least this time he could take out of his frustrations by killing _something._

**-o-**

"So what are we doing here?" The spell ring spat them out in a forest filled with shaggy trees with wide, stocky trunks. Kurogane had his sword out almost as soon as they landed, but Fai was taking in the scenery the same way a child would look at a carnival that just appeared on his doorstep.

"Keep your voice down," Kurogane said. "_We_ are not doing anything. _I_ am hunting a demon and _you_ are staying out of the way."

"A demon?" Fai looked curiously at the empty air in front of him, brows furrowed. "Would a demon be able to get through that barrier?"

"They sometimes-" Kurogane stopped, realizing what Fai had just asked. "You can see the barrier?"

"I can feel it," Fai said, waving an arm in the barrier's general direction. Noting Kurogane's suspicious look, he shrugged. "Intuition, Kuro-sama."

Kurogane considered that for a moment before deciding to let it go for now. He wouldn't get anything out of asking further but more stupid lying smiles and a barrage of new nicknames anyway.

"There are three borders around the kingdom," he said instead . "Eastern, southern, western. North is World's End. The other three are protected by barriers. This is the eastern border."

"And something's passed through it, right?" Fai regarded the border with a professional air. "It _is_ a little weak, looking at it. Who set it?"

"_I_ did," Kurogane said lowly. He knew he shouldn't be annoyed at hearing Fai say it. Kurogane knew better than anyone that his barrier wards were nothing compared to the ones that normally guarded the kingdom. But there was something about hearing _Fai_ say it that made him angry.

"Ah! Well, that explains it, then. Kuro-pon is really not a person made for setting wards." Fai shook his head and gave Kurogane a conciliatory pat on the shoulder. Kurogane restrained himself from trying to cut the blond's arm off. "So that's how you knew that something's passed through?" Off Kurogane's surprised look, he added lightly, "I've read a few things about wards like these. The one who sets them can feel when something gets through the, right?"

Kurogane nodded as he crouched low to the ground, looking at something in the dirt.

"A demon," he said, pointing to the clawed footprint was embedded deeply in the mud. "They infest all the areas outside our borders."

Fai opened his mouth to say something else and Kurogane gave him a dark glare that seemed to quell him into momentary silence.

"It's close," Kurogane said in low tones. He could definitely sense something nearby, watching them. "You keep quiet and stay out the way. Some of these things can still be dangerous, even for small fry."

Fai nodded and stepped backwards to lean on a large rock, giving Kurogane an encouraging wave.

"Good luck, then, Kuro-sama!"

Before Kurogane could ask him what the hell he was talking about something leapt down at him from the trees. Kurogane jumped back just in time and the creature's claws sliced through the air where he had been moments before. The creature landed with a 'thump' on the ground in front of him, skittering backwards on six legs as it stared warily up at him. It was about the size of a large dog, covered all over in short black fur. Its long tongue dangled out from the side of a mouth full of long, sharp fangs and its glowing red eyes moved about wildly on the end of two long stalks attached to the top of its head. Its legs moved stiffly, propelling it from side to side with a strange crab-like shuffle.

Kurogane took a slow step towards it, hands ready on his sword. The demon gave a high-pitched shriek as it gathered its legs under it and leapt at him again, mouth wide open. Kurogane raised his sword to meet it, prepared to slice it in two. At the last moment it twisted mid-air, legs churning wildly as the tail that it had been hiding underneath its body flashed out, long and dark and barbed like a scorpion's. Kurogane moved to dodge, raising up his sword in a defensive position.

"Kuro-sama!" Fai's voice rang out a second before something flew through the air and struck the demon, knocking it off course. The barbed tip of its tail sliced through the air inches from Kurogane's face as it flew by.

"I thought I told you to stay out of this!" Kurogane snapped at the blond, who was bending down to grab another large rock similar to the one he had just launched at the beast.

"But I thought you could use some help," Fai said, tossing the rock up and down in his hand and looking a bit too pleased with himself.

"I don't need help, and especially not from _you_," Kurogane stated.

"Behind you, Kuro-rin," Fai said with all the urgency of someone commenting on the shapes of the clouds. Even as Kurogane turned another rock flew by his face, hitting one of the demon's eyes as it tried to gather its feet for another strike. It wailed in pain and backed up against the nearest tree.

"Dammit, it's going to-" The words weren't even out of Kurogane's mouth before the creature had gathered its legs and sprang straight up into the air, disappearing into the treetops. There was the sound of something skittering through the leaves above them, moving far swifter than the creature had on the ground. Kurogane paused for just a moment as he tried to ascertain the direction it was heading. If it got away here, he would never find it.

He realized only a second too late that it wasn't running _away_ from him…it was running _towards_ Fai, who was standing idly beneath a large tree and tossing a rock in the air without a single care in the world.

"Idiot, get away from the trees!" Kurogane dashed towards the blond but it was too late. A black shape burst from the tree above Fai, claws flashing. Kurogane caught the fleetest glimpse of the demon's claws raking Fai's arm before the blond fell to the ground, the creature pinning him down, tail up and prepared to deliver the fatal strike.

A strike that never came. From where he stood all Kurogane could see was Fai raising his head to look straight at the demon. The foliage around them suddenly shook and Kurogane felt a cold wind blow by his face as the demon stepped back, making a dancing motion as its tail bobbed curiously in the air, as if it were momentarily unsure of itself.

Kurogane didn't waste time wondering what had made it pause. In a flash he crossed the remaining distance between himself and Fai, his sword sinking deep into the demon's back. It screamed again, stumbling off Fai as Kurogane pulled his sword out. Blood dripped from the wound as the demon moved in a slow, awkward circle, trying to gather itself to escape even through the haze of pain. Another strike from Kurogane separated its head from its body and it fell into a broken heap.

Kurogane didn't even spare the carcass a second look, going straight to where Fai was unsteadily climbing to his feet.

"Don't move." Kurogane took hold of Fai's arm, trying to see where he'd been struck. "That thing got you, right?"

"It's all right, Kuro-sama." Fai tried to pull his arm away, giving Kurogane a slightly shaky smile. "I'm fine, I'm fine!"

"This is why I told you to stay out of it, idiot," Kurogane said, ignoring the blond's protests as he continued to look him over for wounds. "That thing could've killed you."

"But Kuro-rin rescued me, so it's all okay," Fai said. "Really, Kuro-pi, I'm fine! It didn't hurt me at all."

"I'm sure I saw it strike you," Kurogane said.

"I moved back in time," Fai said, holding up one arm so that Kurogane could see the cuts the demon's claws had made in the fabric of his wide sleeves. Just as the blond had said, the skin beneath was smooth and unmarred.

"It was on top of you," Kurogane insisted, staring at the torn sleeve.

"I'm really good at dodging," Fai said confidently. "Don't look at me like that, Kuro-tan. It just missed me, really."

Kurogane gave him a long cold stare.

"And it didn't kill you," he said slowly. "It hesitated. Why?"

"I wouldn't know at all," Fai said with an innocent shrug.

Before Kurogane could press him further there was a small rush of air as a white Mokona popped into existence between them. It opened its mouth and spoke with Syaoran's rushed tones.

"Kurogane-san! We found a reference to the god who took the dragons' flight, it's-"

"Get back to the shrine," Yuuko's dry tones cut in. "This is important, Kurogane. We still don't have a name, but we know where the god resides. It is supposed to be imprisoned in the Shrine at World's End."

The Mokona disappeared as swiftly as it had come and Kurogane cursed. He went back to where he had left the demon's carcass lying, throwing it easily over his shoulder as he looked back towards Fai.

"Come on." He turned to leave without even waiting to see if Fai followed. "We're going back to World's End. Now."

**-o-**

The moment they arrived back on the beach Kurogane knew that something was wrong. There was a tense feeling in the air, as if all of World's End was holding its breath. Kurogane took only a moment to be sure that he still had the demon carcass with him and that Fai was still beside him before taking off across the beach at a dead sprint, Fai hurrying along behind them.

As he ran Kurogane quietly cursed himself for a fool. He had intended to check on the Shrine that morning and had instead allowed himself to be distracted by Fai and the Princess's invitation. If something really had escaped the Shrine that meant the seals had weakened. And if one could escape, that made it all the more likely that others could as well.

As he neared the Shrine he could see that the weather had turned odd. Though there were no clouds in the sky there was still a heavy wind blowing, as if the storm from last night was still brewing. The sky itself was a sickly grayish pink and even the sun seemed almost swollen to twice its size as it hung in the sky. The Sea Beyond was churning quietly, small whirlpools forming along the glass-like surface that made it look almost like a mirror that had been hit by hundreds of small rocks.

The Shrine at World's End was listing dangerously to one side in the heavy wind, suddenly by far more unstable than it had been the night before.

"Damn." Kurogane ran to the shrine steps and dropped the demon carcass onto the beach. The steps creaked under his weight as he entered the Shrine.

Unlike the night before, when only the Shrine had been silent even in the face of a howling storm, now it seemed as if the center of the storm itself was contained inside. The glowing stone on the altar was flickering in and out like the light of a dying firefly.

"It's weakening." Kurogane started slightly in surprise at the sound of the voice. He had nearly forgotten about Fai. The blond was staring at the altar with an inscrutable expression. "The wards that have been put in place here…there's something wrong with them."

"Stay out of here!" Kurogane snapped. Fai looked momentarily taken aback by the ferocity in his voice, but there was no time to apologize. Kurogane ran to the altar and grabbed the bone knife and the wooden bowl, hurrying past Fai and back out onto the beach where he had left the demon carcass.

Its blood wouldn't work as well as that of the creatures that lived in the Sea Beyond, but it was all he had right now. Luring a serpent from the Sea required rituals and preparation and even then it could be hours until one actually arrived. And even if one did appear, there was no guaranteeing that it would be another relatively weak beast like the one from last night and not some sort of enormous leviathan that would be difficult to defeat. Doing things properly would take time he didn't have.

Kurogane crouched in the sand as he carefully slit the demon's stomach open, its back blood spilling into the bowl. Kurogane nearly choked from the stench of it, but there was no helping it. He needed blood and this was all he had. He stood and made his way to the bottom of the Shrine steps. The circle mark he had made the night before was still there, red standing out starkly against the sparkling white and yellows of the sand, but the symbol was strangely slanted and distorted. He quickly dipped his fingers into the sticky black demon's blood and tried to correct it, red and black blood mixing with the sand as he tried to make the three circles, but the best he could manage was a poor substitute for the normally clean lines. The blood from the night before hadn't disappeared completely yet and the demon's blood was too thick and sticky, like trying to draw with tar. There was no time to be overly critical, however. The ritual was not yet complete, and the wards were growing weaker every second. Kurogane quickly rose and made his way to the door. He threw the door open and abruptly froze, staring.

Fai was kneeling beside the altar, head bowed, murmuring words in a language that Kurogane didn't recognize but which nonetheless had the clear cadence of a prayer.

"What the hell do you think you're-"

"Do you have blood?" Fai's eyes were hooded and cold, and something in the sharp command stopped Kurogane in his tracks. He was dimly aware that the winds seemed to have died down somewhat. "Kuro-sama! Do you have blood for the sacrifice?"

"Here." Kurogane shook off his surprise and went to stand beside Fai, pouring the blood into the stone basin. The glowing stone flashed momentarily blue and then gold.

"Cut your palm," Fai ordered with unnatural calm. When Kurogane paused again, Fai gave him a piercing look. "Kuro-rin! I need you to add your blood. The blood of something like a demon won't work for this, not alone. I need human blood."

Kurogane nodded, taking the bone knife and slicing a line across his palm. It wasn't until he saw the blood dripping into the basin, a deep red stain spreading across the black demon's blood, that it occurred to him to wonder why Fai hadn't simply used his own blood.

Fai began chanting again, eyes closed and palms pressed together. The winds began to rise again and Kurogane found himself buffeted backwards, backing into one of the jar-filled shelves and trying his best not break anything as he braced himself against it.. He wanted to yell at Fai and ask what he was doing, but the force of the wind was so strong he wasn't even sure he could speak.

Fai's eyes flashed open and Kurogane saw the briefest flash of gold as the glowing stone suddenly burst into a bright light and Fai said a word that sounded like nothing Kurogane had ever heard — not so much a word but an absolute command, something that could not be ignored. For a moment Kurogane was blinded by the light and deafened by the howl of the wind.

Then everything went abruptly quiet. The winds died away to nothing and the glow from the stone settled back into the usual soft orange glow. Fai was still sitting in front of the altar, not so much as a hair out of place, once hand pressed against the now-empty stone basin.

Kurogane took a moment to be sure nothing looked out of place on the shelf he had been holding on to before taking a slow step towards Fai. As he stepped towards the altar he could feel a strange sensation in the air, a prickling sensation on his skin that he remembered from the time his mother had been the shrine's priestess.

"You bastard…" Kurogane said in low tones as he moved to stand beside Fai. "What the hell are you? Some sort of priest?"

"Hmm?" Fai looked up at him with wide-eyed confusion, as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.

"Don't 'hmm' me!" Kurogane snapped. "You just reset the damn wards! I may not have much spiritual power, but even I can tell these things are strong. The wards haven't been this strong since my mother died, and you did it with _demon's_ blood!"

"It's not really anything to be excited about, Kuro-sama," Fai said with a mild shrug. "I had your blood too, and that helps make up for the deficit created by using the demon's blood." Off Kurogane's suspicious glare, he added, "It's just something I picked up somewhere, Kuro-rin. It's really easy if you know how to do it."

Kurogane fixed him with another hard look, clearly not buying a word of it. Fai simply stared back at him with the ever-impenetrable smile and finally Kurogane turned away from him, beginning to scan the shelves.

"Kuro-tan?" Fai started to get to his feet.

"You stay there," Kurogane said, his hands feeling along the edges of each jar, looking for cracks. "I need to be sure nothing's broken."

"Everything should be fine," Fai said. "The wards are reinforced now and I don't think they were weak enough for anything to get inside that shouldn't have."

"I'm not worried about anything getting _in,_" Kurogane said. "I'm worried about what might have gotten _out._"

"There are dangerous things inside those, right?" Somehow it didn't seem like a question. Kurogane turned to look back at him and Fai shrugged. "Syaoran-kun told me about this place while you were getting your royal scolding. The Shrine at World's End houses imprisoned gods, right?"

"Right," Kurogane said grudgingly. "And apparently something might have escaped last night. If it has, that's my responsibility."

"Everything _looks_ fine," Fai said and there was a note of almost desperation in his voice. "Why don't we go back to the house now, Kuro-sama? It's cold in here."

"Do what you like," Kurogane stated. "I'm not leaving until I've checked every one of these."

"But there are hundreds," Fai pointed out.

"Then I'll be here for a while," Kurogane said flatly.

"But Kuro-rin-" Fai cut off as Kurogane stepped towards the next shelf and there came a sound of scraping pottery. Kurogane paused and bent down, lifting one foot to reveal a white shard. He reached under the shelf and pulled out what had once been a white vase covered in a strange pattern of dark blue. It had been neatly shattered into several pieces.

Kurogane clenched the fragments of the vase tight in his hand. _Damn it all._

In all the history of his family, not a single being had escaped the Shrine at World's End. His ancestors, his own parents, they had all performed their duties well and properly throughout their entire lives, making sure that what was sealed away would always remain sealed away.

And he had destroyed it all.

Kurogane looked over at Fai, whose head was lowered, his expression unreadable in the dim light.

"Come on. We're going back to the house. It's time to find out exactly what was imprisoned here."

**-o-**

Kurogane sighed and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He had just made his report to the palace and, as expected, it hadn't been taken well. The Princess of the Sun had been no trouble — Sakura couldn't get mad at someone she cared about if her life depended on it - but Touya had practically given him a lecture and Yuuko had simply hung back by the throne with an irritating smirk on her face, like she'd expected him to mess up eventually. And it wasn't like he could answer any of them back, because they had a point. It _was_ his fault. If he hadn't been so late making the sacrifice, if he hadn't been distracted by the storm, if he had even an ounce of decent spiritual power, then none of this would have happened.

There was no point in dwelling on it now, Kurogane knew. His job wasn't finished yet. He needed to find out what had been sealed in that jar, and to do that he was going to need help.

He glanced towards the door, where Fai was waiting for him in the other room. The idiot was another troubling thing. He refused to say where he had come from other than it was "far away," and despite his claims of being lost he seemed to have no particular destination that he was heading to. And then there was the stunt he had pulled in the Shrine…Kurogane shook his head. He was no expert in these matters, but even he knew that what Fai had done was in no way "easy," no matter what the blond claimed. Only someone with real power could have strengthened those wards as much as Fai had.

It was definitely suspicious, however you looked at it. On the other hand, if Fai hadn't done that it was likely that Kurogane alone wouldn't have had the power to fix the broken wards and then who knew what else could have escaped. Kurogane sighed again. There was no point in worrying about it, he supposed. Whatever the idiot's past was, it was no business of Kurogane's.

"Were you scolded again, Kuro-tan?" Fai looked up as Kurogane stepped into the room.

"I was not scolded!" Kurogane snapped even though he knew that he technically had been. Fai seemed to know it too, judging by his self-satisfied smile.

"Were too!"

"I _was not_!" Kurogane realized that his face was red and turned away with a snort, arms crossed. "Anyway, shut up about that. We've got more important things to worry about right now."

"'We?'" Fai repeated. Contrary to what Kurogane had expected, there was no teasing smile on Fai's face, no mockery for Kurogane having actually admitted to Fai being a part of this. Instead, Fai's blue eyes were wide and surprised, as if Kurogane had said something completely unexpected.

"Follow me," Kurogane said, not bothering to explain. Fai all but stumbled to his feet in his haste to follow.

"Where are we going? Kuro-tan?" Fai tried to peer over Kurogane's shoulder as they walked down the hall.

"I'll tell you when we get there," Kurogane snapped. He stopped for a moment to take two circular-shaped metal lamps off a hook along the wall, handing one to Fai. "Take this. We'll need light where we're going."  
He led Fai into a dusty storeroom near the back of the house. Kurogane paused, trying to remember the location of the thing he was looking for. Spotting a large clay pot in the center of the room, he nodded in recognition and moved over to it, straining to push the heavy item a few feet forward. Fai simply watched him curiously, hands behind his back.

"Don't…try to help…or anything," Kurogane grunted irritably as he pushed.

"Don't worry, Kuro-pi," Fai assured him. "I'm providing you with valuable moral support!" He clapped his hands a few times as if in demonstration.

Kurogane grunted in reply and gave the pot one final shove. It tipped over dangerously on its side as it fell out of the way and he bent down over the part of the floor it had been covering. He glanced over at Fai, who was looking at him with interest.

"You can tell, right? What's under here?"

"There's a ward," Fai said, nodding. "Stronger than the ones Kuro-sama sets."

"My mother was the last one to put this in place." Kurogane stepped back, crossing his arms. "I need you to remove it."

"You can't?" Fai cocked his head.

"Not easily," Kurogane said. "We don't have time to waste with proper rituals. I need to get at what's under here."

"Hmm…but that might be a problem," Fai said. "I'm really not as good at these things as you think, Kuro-tan."

"Don't give me that crap," Kurogane snapped. "I was there in the Shrine. Even I know that wasn't amateur's work."

"It's more luck than anything," Fai said even as he knelt down on the floor beside Kurogane. Kurogane's moving of the pot had revealed the square outline of appeared to be a trap door. There was a symbol like a bird carved in its center. Fai curiously touched a finger to it.

Kurogane _felt_ the ward break. It was as if a glass had broken somewhere in the distance, somehow more felt than heard. A light cold breeze blew by and then there was no feeling at all, no sign that anything had ever guarded this space. Kurogane stared down at Fai, who was still kneeling on the floor.

"Ah, did it work?" Fai gave Kurogane a guileless smile, as if he truly had no idea that he had broken Kurogane's mother's ward as easily as a child breaks a porcelain doll.

"Out of the way." Rather than replying, Kurogane shoved him backward, pulling the door open to reveal a winding set of stairs leading deep underground.

"My." Fai gave a low whistle. "Nice secret base, Kuro-rin."

"It's not a secret base," Kurogane said, picking up the lantern he had set aside when moving the pot. "This is the closest thing we've got to an archive. Down there is where we keep the records of what's imprisoned in the Shrine at World's End." He began to descend the stairs. "Come on, and keep close to me. There are other traps set down here for intruders, but they shouldn't be problem as long as I'm here." He gave Fai a cold look out of the corner of his eye. "Though I suppose _you_ would be okay either way."

"You're overestimating me again," Fai said as he followed Kurogane underground. "That ward wasn't really very complicated. Once you know how something like that is made it's easy for anyone to unravel it."

"My mother set that ward," Kurogane said darkly. "And no one has ever been able to break one of her wards that easily."

"Kuro-sama's mother, then?" There was an unidentifiable shadow in Fai's voice. "That would explain it, I guess. It was a very elegant ward. Was Kuro-sama's mother a person like that?"

"I suppose." Kurogane didn't know why he answered. He didn't like to talk about himself or his family, and there was certainly no reason to say such things to an idiot like Fai. But somehow he couldn't stop the soft, sad smile from forming on his face. "She was an elegant person."

"And your father?"

"He was a great warrior. I learned all my fighting techniques from him." Kurogane rested one hand on the hilt of his sword. "I always dreamed of the day I would surpass him."

For a moment there was silence between them, broken only by the sound of their footfalls on the steps. When Fai spoke again, there was a heaviness to his voice that Kurogane hadn't heard before.

"How did they die?"

"My father died performing his duty," Kurogane said. Part of him wanted to tell Fai that this was none of his business, but still the words came. Something about the way Fai spoke made not answering impossible. "It's a risk all warriors of my family have to face, the possibility that one day the thing you call from the Sea Beyond will be too strong for you. He still defeated it in the end, but it cost him his life." Kurogane's grip on the lamp tightened. "My mother…she was always in poor health. She still did her duty faithfully, even as her own life was fading. After my father died, she followed soon after."

"You say it so easily, Kuro-rin." There was an obvious forced levity to Fai's voice now, as if his thoughts were somewhere much darker. "Doesn't it hurt?"

"It did," Kurogane said. "But that was a long time ago. There's no point in dwelling on it."

"Even if it was long ago, can you really forget it so easily? The people you cared about most were taken from you, and left you alone. It shouldn't be something you can just dismiss."

"Don't be stupid," Kurogane said. "I'm not dismissing it. But it's stupid to just stay in one place like that. I still have my own life to live. Wasting time dwelling on what's been lost won't bring anything back."

"Of course it would be stupid to you, Kuro-rin." Fai gave a laugh that had no humor in it. Kurogane glanced back at him curiously, but Fai's smile was a tightly locked secret. Kurogane almost wanted to hit him for a moment, to find whatever it was he was hiding and force him to lay it bare on the ground.

"We're here," he said instead. They had finally reached the bottom of the stairs and stood at the mouth of a long, winding cavern. In the dim light from the lamps one could just make out various doorways scattered along the walls. Kurogane led Fai unerringly to the third door on the right side, then motioned for him to stay put for a moment.

He stepped inside and carefully made his way towards the center of the room. In the light from the lamp there seemed to be absolutely nothing in the room but rocks and dust, but eventually he came upon a small circular pedestal made of crystal and glass. There were strange slants along the edges of the pedestal and the lamp Kurogane was holding slid neatly over top of it. Immediately the entire room burst into light.

Other than the pedestal, the room seemed just as empty in the light as it had in the darkness. Upon closer inspection, however, once could see that the walls of the cavern were covered in hundreds upon hundreds of small square compartments. There were symbols of differing shapes and sizes carved along the sides of each compartment.

Fai gave another impressed whistle as he stepped into the cavern after Kurogane, then coughed as the stale dusty air made its way into his lungs.

"This is a very old place," the blond said quietly, moving over to examine the carvings on the wall.

"This is a record of everything that's ever been sealed in the Shrine at World's End." Kurogane took what appeared to be a sliver of white pottery from his belt and held it to Fai. Inked on one side were two symbols, one that appeared to be some sort of rune and the other an image of a pair of feathered wings. "This is from the broken jar. We're looking for this symbol on the wall."

Fai looked down at the small symbols on the shard and then at the hundreds of symbols that were carved all around them.

"Perhaps this is another job for you, Kuro-rin," Fai suggested.

"Shut up," Kurogane grumbled. "This will go quicker with two of us."

"We'll be here _forever,_ Kuro-sama," Fai said pitifully, giving him what Kurogane assumed was supposed to be sad puppy eyes. Kurogane was unmoved.

"Then you'd better get started," he said darkly, turning away. "You start on that side."

"It's so dusty in here, though," Fai whined even as he began to examine the wall. "You can't expect someone of my delicate constitution to spend all day down here, Kuro-pi."

"'Delicate constitution,' my _ass_," Kurogane snapped. "If you want to get out of here that bad, find the symbol."

Fai's whining tapered off into a series of pathetic whimpers whenever he thought Kurogane was looking at him. Kurogane did his best to ignore it, though even he couldn't suppress the occasional cough. The stale air was beginning to give him a headache, but he'd be damned if he gave Fai another reason to whine.

He was moving on to the next row of carvings when he thought he felt a cool wind blow by. Kurogane straightened abruptly, glancing towards the doorway. They were underground, there was no way for a wind like that to blow here. The only reason there was even enough air as it was due to all kinds of ancient spells that had been placed back when the archive was first created.

"Kuro-tan, I'm _thirsty,_" Fai moaned, noticing that Kurogane had allowed his attention to wander.

"I don't care," Kurogane announced and went back to searching the wall. It had probably been his imagination anyway.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed by the time he finally spotted it. Kurogane's legs were cramping from standing still so long and his eyes were beginning to ache from the low light, but even so he recognized the symbols carved along the edge of the compartment immediately. He reached a hand inside, feeling about for a moment before his hand grasped an old piece of yellowed parchment tied with a ribbon. The seal holding it closed matched the wing symbol on the jar perfectly.

"I've got what we need," he announced. Fai gave a weak little cheer.

"Finally!" Fai bounded over to peer over Kurogane's shoulder as the other man began to undo the seal. "What is it?"

"This record was made by the person who sealed whatever it was that was in that jar," Kurogane said. He unrolled the parchment and held it out for Fai to see.

Written on the scroll were two short sentences inked in looping script. Beneath that there was a name written three times, in three different styles of writing.

"Damn." Kurogane held the scroll up close to his face, then shook his head. He glanced back at Fai. "Hey. The kid said you could read some of the old languages. Can you read this?"

"You can't?" Fai asked, trying to peer over his shoulder at the scroll.

"Just the name." Kurogane pointed to the words written at the bottom of the scroll. "I don't know what the first two say, but that last one's in a script my mother taught me. It says 'Ashura.'"

In the half-light from the lamp Kurogane thought Fai's skin looked a bit paler than usual. He supposed it was an effect of the bad air.

"Let me see." Fai held out a hand and Kurogane gave him the scroll. The blond stared at it for a long time, his expression unreadable.

"Well?" Kurogane said impatiently. "What does it say? Does it give a name?"

Fai shook his head, handing the scroll back to Kurogane.

"It says, 'I have kept my promise. The rest is up to you.'"

**-o-**

Kurogane laid in his bed, staring at the scroll in his hand.

He had intended to leave it back in the archive where they had found it four days prior, but in the end he had decided it was best to take it out into the light. He had hoped that there might be some other clue contained inside, some kind of secret code or hidden message that would tell him what kind of god had been imprisoned by this 'Ashura' person so long ago.

The name meant nothing to him. He supposed it could be the name of some distant ancestor, but it was equally as likely that it could have belonged to some errant priest or exorcist who had managed to seal a god and had left the jar at the Shrine at World's End for safekeeping. Either way it was unlikely that the man had left any other clues about the imprisoned god beyond what was left with the Shrine. A Shrine priest would know better than to leave such a vague message for his descendants and a traveling priest would be unlikely to keep any information on the capture in his own files, when there would be no likelihood of his ever returning to the Shrine.

He had been contacted only briefly by the palace since he'd reported finding the scroll. Yuuko and Syaoran were still buried in books in the library, searching for any other references to dragons or the god that stolen the power of flight from them. So far they had found nothing beyond a handful of obliquely-worded references.

And then there was his _other_ problem…

"Kuro-sama! Breakfast!" The door to his room opened abruptly and Fai all but skipped inside, holding a tray of food.

"You could at least knock first, damn it!" Kurogane snapped at him. Fai gave him an airy smile.

"But I called you three times and you didn't come," he said. "You don't want breakfast to get cold, do you?"

"I didn't ask you to make breakfast." Kurogane eyed the sweet-looking confections on the tray dubiously. "What the hell kind of breakfast is that anyway?"

"It's good." Fai picked up one and held it in front of Kurogane's mouth, as if he was trying to feed and small petulant child. "Try it, try it!"

"Not now. Go away."

"It'll get cold," Fai said in cajoling tones. "Come on, Kuro-rin, just a taste. It's _really_ good, I promise."

"I don't care. Would you go-" Kurogane was cut off as Fai took advantage of his open mouth to stuff the food inside. Kurogane half-choked on it but managed to swallow it all down, gasping slightly to regain his breath. "Are you trying to _kill_ me?"

"Wasn't it good?" Fai beamed at him and Kurogane irritably climbed out of bed, storming out of the room. Fai hurried after him. "Ah, Kuro-tan, wait for me!"

Four days, and the idiot still hadn't left. If anything, he had made himself even _more_ at home than before — his stupid coat was still lying in a neatly folded heap in the corner and he had been digging through the closets for whatever clothes would fit him. He'd been helping Kurogane sort through his family's meager collection of paper records in the hopes of finding more clues and he'd even accompanied Kurogane on his rounds along the country's borders, checking for any other creatures that might have found their way past the barriers.

And now the bastard was even making him _breakfast._

Kurogane wandered out of the house and down to the beach towards the Shrine. He'd been checking on those wards too, not quite able to believe that Fai had really managed to set them properly.

"It's a pretty day out, isn't it Kuro-pi?" Fai asked mildly as he trotted along behind Kurogane, swinging his arms idly and admiring the clear skies above them. Kurogane grunted in reply. "Hmm? What was that, Kuro-tan? I didn't quite catch it."

"I _said,_ didn't you have some place you were trying to get to?" Kurogane turned so that he was facing Fai. The blond gave him another bright smile.

"I did." Fai shrugged. "I didn't say I had to be there _now._"

"You're not even really lost, are you, you bastard?" Kurogane felt a spike of annoyance.

"Of course I am," Fai said. There was something cold in his smile now, like a mountaintop in midwinter. "I'm always lost."

"So you just ended up here on accident and decided to stay and annoy me to death," Kurogane muttered.

"Me?" Fai was as innocent as a kitten. "I'm just doing my best to take care of you, since you've been such a good host to me."

"For an uninvited guest," Kurogane said darkly.

"But you'd be lonely if I left," Fai stated confidently.

"I'd be _happy_ if you left," Kurogane said. "Then maybe I could hear myself think for once."

"You would be lonely," Fai repeated, undaunted. "Besides, if you really wanted me to leave you'd say so. Kuro-rin isn't a person who dances around things like that."

"What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?" Kurogane snapped. "I _have_ told you to leave. Many times. You keep staying."

"But that's not the same at all," Fai said, waving a hand. "When Kuro-rin says 'go away' it's really just like when a normal person asks you to leave the room for a moment." He stared at Kurogane out of lidded eyes and suddenly Kurogane felt as if there was a chill wind blowing around them. "If you want me to leave —_ really_ want me to leave — then say it. Not in the way you usually do. If you say it like you mean it, I'll leave."

A heavy silence hung between them. Fai's face was devoid of any humor or cheer now, as if a shroud had been pulled over it. Kurogane could only stare at him, his mouth refusing to speak the answer he knew he should give. _Of course_ he wanted Fai to leave. Why the hell would anyone want Fai to stay with them and bother them endlessly? Kurogane had been telling him to go away for days now. The answer should have come to his lips immediately.

"Do whatever you want," Kurogane said at last, turning dismissively away. Behind him, Fai gave a little cheer.

"I knew it! Kuro-sama _does_ love me!"

"When the hell did I say that?" Kurogane said sharply as Fai skipped happily by him.

Fai looked back and said something, but all Kurogane heard was the sudden roaring in his ears and the sensation of something being ripped in two behind his eyes. He staggered unexpectedly, falling to his knees on the beach. He was dimly aware of Fai running back towards him, of the blond grabbing him before he could collapse to the ground, the blue eyes wide and unexpectedly stricken. Kurogane wanted to push him away, but his body refused to obey him. Sharp pains spiked in his head and in the back of his mind he had the briefest glimpse of large shapes moving through thick forest.

Something — or some _things_ — had ripped through the western barrier, torn it in two as if it were nothing but so much paper. What he was feeling now was the same feeling he normally had when a demon broke through but multiplied a hundredfold, resonating throughout his entire body all at once.

The last thing he was aware of before he was swallowed up by darkness was Fai's desperate voice yelling his name.

**-o-**

He awoke with an _enormous_ headache.

Kurogane couldn't suppress a groan as he sat up, rubbing his head. It took him a moment to remember what had happened.

The barrier. Something had broken through one of his barriers.

"Damn," Kurogane muttered to himself. Another thing he didn't need.

He was suddenly aware that he was very clearly _not_ back in his own house. He was lying in a soft bed surrounded by gauzy yellow curtains, in a room with a high ceiling and yellow-painted walls. There was no mistaking that color. He was in the Palace of Day and Night.

"You're awake." A voice caught his attention and he suddenly noticed the figure that had been standing near the door.

"Princess." Kurogane nodded to her and Sakura beamed.

"We were worried," she told him. "Are you feeling a little better now?"

"My head hurts like hell." He looked around. "How did I end up here?"

"Fai-san brought you." Sakura looked suddenly downcast. "The western barrier…"

"Broken." Kurogane rubbed his head irritably. "Damn. Dragons?"

"Yes." Sakura nodded gravely. "They've come, finally."

"Are they headed here?"

"No." Sakura gave him a serious look. "Touya said they look like they're headed to World's End."

Kurogane swore again and reached for his sword that had been left lying at his bedside. Sakura's hand on his wrist stopped him.

"There's still time before they get there," she said. "Also…Tomoyo-chan wants to talk to you. She'd like you to stay here until tonight."

_That_ surprised him, and worried him a little as well. If the Princess of the Moon wanted to speak with him it could only be something important. Kurogane sighed.

"All right. I guess I'm here until moon rise, then. What a pain."

Sakura gave him a fond smile and moved to leave the room. She paused for moment, a sudden worried look coming to her face.

"Kurogane-san…"

"Hmm?"

"I.." Sakura shifted nervously for a moment, then seemed to gather herself. "I just want to tell you…when the time comes, the thing you'll regret most is if you don't do anything." With that she gave him another quick nod and hurried out of the room. Kurogane stared thoughtfully after her.

"Kuro-tan!" His peace was broken a moment later by Fai sticking his head in the door. Kurogane's headache suddenly seemed to intensify.

"Go _away_," he muttered, laying his head back on the pillow.

"But Sakura-chan said you were feeling better now," Fai said, settling himself in the chair by the bed.

"I _was_, until you got here."

"That's not a nice thing to say to the person who helped you," Fai sniffed. "I could have left you lying in the sand all alone, you know."

"So you brought me here." Kurogane eyed him critically. "How?"

"Well, I have already been here once." Fai shrugged. "I dragged you to the spell circle and just repeated the words I heard you say before." His smile dimmed slightly. "I didn't know what else to do. I thought…"

He looked so lost for a moment that Kurogane found himself placing a comforting hand on the blond's head before he could even think better of it.

"Kuro-pi?"

"You could have done worse," Kurogane said grudgingly. "It was probably best to bring me here."

"It was a magical backlash, wasn't it?" Fai's head was still lowered, his expression unreadable. "I've…seen things like that before."

"Something like that," Kurogane said. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine."

"Of course." Fai smiled again. "It takes more than that to bring down Kuro-rin, right?"

"Right." Kurogane thought of dragons and his expression hardened slightly.

Fai stared at him for a long moment before rising.

"Well, as long as Kuro-tan is safe and resting I guess I should go back to World's End."

"You're leaving? Alone?" Kurogane couldn't disguise his surprise. He'd assumed the idiot would be spending the rest of the day at his bedside being a nuisance.

"Aw, Kuro-puu misses me already!" Fai said happily. Kurogane snorted and looked away.

"I do not. You're just so annoying I can't believe you would pass up the chance to stay here and cause trouble to everyone."

"Someone should really be minding the house," Fai said as casually as if 'the house' were actually his and not just a place he was temporarily being allowed to stay. He gave Kurogane a cheerful wave as he made his way to the door.

"Oh, right." Fai stopped in the doorway, his back to Kurogane and something cold in his voice. "Syaoran-kun told me to tell you, once you're feeling up to it he wants to see you in the library. He's found something."

"Why didn't you say so earlier, idiot?" Kurogane stood, feeling only a little unsteady on his feet. He stumbled to the door, grabbing Fai by the arm. "Come on."

"Not today, Kuro-tan." Fai snaked out of his grip far too easily and skipped backwards. There was something nervous and fluttery about his smile. "I'm getting in your way here. I'll see you later, all right?" Without waiting for a reply he quickly turned and disappeared down the halls.

Kurogane stared after him for a moment before shaking his head. He'd never understand what the hell went on in that idiot's head.

When he reached the library he found Syaoran in the same place he had last seen the kid, head buried in books. Kurogane gave a pointed cough and Syaoran looked up with a start.

"Kurogane-san. Are you all right? I heard-"

"I'm fine," Kurogane cut him off. "You've found something?"

"Fai-san told you?" Syaoran leaned to one side, trying to look beyond Kurogane. "Where is Fai-san, anyway?"

"He went home," Kurogane said dismissively. "Well? Did you find me a name?"

"No, unfortunately." Syaoran reached over and grabbed hold of a large book with a deep blue cover. There was a ribbon placed in the center to mark his page and he gingerly flipped over to it, careful not to break the delicate pages. Kurogane moved over to stand at his shoulder. "But I did find something. The Princess gave me the idea, actually." His ears went slightly red with pleased embarrassment. "She said the idea of dragons losing the flight from their wings made her think of something from a fairy tale. We had been looking in history texts but I decided to try a few of the library's older mythology and story books, and then I found this." He pointed to a page in the book. The words were written in a delicate decorative text and there were elaborate illustrations of dragons draw along the margins.

"What does it say?" Kurogane didn't recognize the language at all.

"It's in an older version of our language," Syaoran said, sounding slightly apologetic. "I'm still working on the full translation, but I think I've gotten the general idea of it. Here, let me get my notes." He grabbed a handful of papers from underneath another open book.

"Apparently it all started with the goddess of the western wind. She was flying through the mountains one day when she saw a beautiful golden gem sparkling on top of a mountain. It charmed her and she began to fly by it every day, swirling her winds around it and savoring its beauty. But the western mountains were dragon territory then too, and dragons are greedy creatures. One day the goddess flew by the mountain to see her gem only to find that a dragon had taken it from its place atop the mountain and placed it in his own treasure hoard deep within the mountain. Enraged, the goddess vowed to get her gem back."

As he spoke, Syaoran turned the page of the blue book. The next page was mostly taken up by a drawing of a dragon and a woman with a golden orb hovering between them. The woman was drawn with sharp flowing lines, as if her form was not quite solid.

"The goddess made all her winds blow colder and colder in the western mountains, freezing out the caves so that the dragons could no longer hide in them. Then one night she slipped into the cave of the dragon who had taken the gem from the mountain and stole it back.

"Not wanting to lose her gem again, she decided she would hide it somewhere even dragons couldn't reach. She left the western part of the world and flew to World's End."

Kurogane raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Once at World's End," Syaoran continued, "the goddess took her gem and split it in two. Then she used the sand to create two children. She placed half of the gem in each of their eyes and finally blew her own breath into them, and the twin gods the western wind were born." Syaoran turned the page again. One half of the page was another illustration, of two figures with their hands entwined and winds swirling around them. The second page had a large black stain over the first several words that obscured them completely.

"Their names," Syaoran said apologetically, following Kurogane's gaze. "They're not recorded anywhere else in the story, either. It's an old stain, there's no way to see what was written there."

"Don't worry about it," Kurogane said. "Go on, kid."

"Right. Anyway, after she had created her children, the goddess of the western wind stayed with them for a while but eventually, as gods often do, she grew bored and disappeared off on her own. But the twin gods went back to the mountains and stayed there together, harnessing the winds along the highest peak and living there peacefully.

"One day, however, one of the wind gods flew too low along the mountain and came face to face with a dragon. The dragons had long suffered from the increased cold in their mountains ever since the angry wind goddess first unleashed her power on them, and dragon's memories are long. It knew exactly whose child the wind god was. Furthermore, the dragon immediately recognized the treasure that was sealed in the child's eye. The dragon asked for the return of the gem, but the wind god refused and flew away. The next day the winds were colder than ever and the dragons vowed to find the twin gods and force them to leave, no matter what it took."

Syaoran turned the page again. The next illustration was an enormous detailed drawing of a dragon with wings outstretched, crouching over something small and bloody.

"Finally, one day a dragon managed to catch one of the wind gods and tore out his eye, retrieving half of the gem. Because the twin gods were only created from sand and goddess's breath held together with half a gem, the loss of this gem weakened the wind god enough that the dragon was able to kill him after taking the eye. The other twin arrived just in time to see his brother die, with the dragon standing over him.

"The second wind god was enraged at the loss of his brother. In revenge for the killing, the second god stole the wind from underneath the wings of all the dragons, using his powers to decree that not only all the living dragons but their descendants as well would never fly again — that all the wind that would have gathered under their wings to allow them to fly would instead refuse to settle itself underneath them. His vengeance taken, the wind god then returned to the mountain's peak. Many of the now-flightless dragons attempted to scale the mountain and capture the wind god, but all who tried never returned. As time went on they even bargained with priests and shrine maidens from all the neighboring countries, hoping that one might be able to succeed where they had failed. However, all their attempts were in vain. Any who managed to reach the mountain's peak were slain by the vengeful wind god."

Syaoran turned the page once more. The next page had a single illustration on it along with one short line of text. The opposite page, however, had been badly burnt and torn, the words blurred beyond recognition.

"That's all there is," Syaoran said. "The next few pages were all too damaged to read. We can't find anything about who actually captured the wind god or how."

Kurogane barely heard him. He was staring at the illustration on the last intact page. "Kid," Kurogane said slowly, pointing to the line of text beneath the picture, "what does this say?"

"That?" Syaoran leaned in close to look at it. "Um…let me see…" He dug through his notes for a moment. "Here. It's describing the illustration. That's the symbol of the surviving wind god. Does it look familiar?"

Kurogane didn't answer, still staring fixedly at the image of the page. He had only seen it once before, but still he would recognize it anywhere: an intricate symbol in the shape of a bird.

And it matched exactly the marking Kurogane had seen on Fai's back.

**-o-**

Kurogane stood by the window in his temporary room at the palace, staring out at the setting sun as he waited for the Princess of the Moon.

It really hadn't been that great of a surprise, all told. Thinking back on it, a part of him had suspected ever since Fai had reset the wards at the Shrine, maybe even before then. But he hadn't really been able to bring himself to believe it. An idiot like that, a god? Impossible.

Impossible, but true. The image in Syaoran's book had been unmistakable. And the way the idiot had set the wards so easily, his refusal to use his own blood for the ritual, the slashes from the demon's claws that had not left a single wound…it all fit.

"Kurogane-san." Sakura's voice made him turn as she came up beside him. "Are you all right? You look worried."

"I was thinking," Kurogane said grimly, looking away. Sakura placed a hand on his and he looked at her curiously.

"I can't tell you what's going to happen," she said quietly. "I've been having dreams, but I still can't tell what they mean. I…I think if you just do the thing you believe in most strongly then I'm sure that, in the end, everything will be all right."

Sakura gave him another soft smile and closed her eyes as the last bit of sunlight faded away and the moon rose.

The Palace of Day and Night began to change. As Kurogane watched the bright yellow walls darkened to a soft purple, the bed curtains turning dark blue and even the cream-colored pillows turning a soft pastel blue. The sun-shaped lamps on the walls seemed to melt and reform themselves into crescent moons, while the sun-decorated tapestries rolled themselves up and then fell back down to reveal new ones decorated with images of the moon and stars.

Sakura herself was changing as well. Her skin seemed to grow paler as her hair grew darker brown and finally black, growing longer and longer until it fell in waves behind her. Her white and gold clothes became all blues and purples, and the golden sun pendant around her neck started to rotate in a circle until at last it came to a stop as a silver moon. Even the shape of her face seemed to change until she was a different girl all together. Her eyes opened and the Princess of the Moon smiled softly up at Kurogane.

"Tomoyo." Kurogane nodded to her in greeting.

"You're always so informal, Kurogane," she said with a small laugh.

"Hmmph." Kurogane looked away. "So? The Sun Princess said you wanted to talk to me."

"Yes," Tomoyo said. "It's been a long time since we've spoken, hasn't it, Kurogane?"

"I guess." Kurogane shrugged. He had known Tomoyo since even before she was named Princess of the Moon and somehow she always knew how to throw him off.

"Sakura-chan told you she had a dream, didn't she?" Tomoyo turned towards the window, staring up at the bright full moon. "I also had a dream."

Kurogane straightened slightly at that. The Princesses of the Sun and Moon were both dream seers but where Sakura often flashes of what was to come, Tomoyo walked in the dreams of others.

"In my dream, I met someone." Tomoyo continued to stare out at the moon, as if she was only barely aware of Kurogane's presence. "He was a very beautiful man, with long black hair and sad eyes, dressed in fur-trimmed robes of dark blue. We were in a place covered in snow, but it wasn't cold. When he saw me, he smiled and asked me to come sit with him. And he told me a story."

Tomoyo turned to look back at Kurogane. Her eyes were dark and fathomless and her voice seemed to be coming from a place far, far away.

"Once upon a time, there was a woman who was imprisoned on a ship, tied to the mast day and night with heavy chains. One night, there was a terrible storm and the ship sank. Bound as she was, the woman would have drowned if not for one of the gods of the sea, who rescued her and carried her to a safe land far on the opposite shore of the world.

"The woman was able to begin a new life in a town along the shore but she could not forget the face of the stranger who had rescued her from the sea. Every night she would walk along the beach and call for the one who had rescued her to come and see her again, and every night the god who had saved her would watch her from the shadows. Finally, after she had continued to call for him even after years had passed, the god revealed himself to her. From then on she met with him on nights when the full moon was high in the sky, on that wide beach at the opposite shore of the world. In time it became clear that they had fallen in love with each other."

Tomoyo pressed a hand against the moon pendant around her neck for a moment before continuing.

"Though the woman tried her best to keep her meetings with the sea god a secret, soon rumors began to spread in the town. One day, a false priest came traveling and heard the whispers of a woman and a god who met every full moon. This priest was a jealous man, who envied the strong spiritual power of others. In that time there were many tales that circulated in the land of how any man who killed a god and drank its blood would gain spiritual powers unmatched in the world. Greedy for such power, the man laid a trap for the sea god. The night of the full moon, he contrived to have the woman waylaid on her way to the beach. Then the priest disguised himself in woman's robes and waited on the beach for the sea god.

"As the moon reached its zenith in the sky, the god of the sea emerged from the waters and strode onto the beach, and the priest stepped forward to meet him. As the sea god stepped forward to embrace the person he believed to be his lover, the moon illuminated the twisted face of the priest. The sea god summoned the waters of the ocean to drown the priest, but the gesture was too late. Before he died, the priest managed to stab the sea god in the heart with an enchanted dagger and the god fell forward onto the beach, his blood spilling into the sands.

"The sea god's lover found him there shortly after, herself bruised and battered from the robbers she had only barely managed to escape. Seeing her lover was dying she fell into despair and sent a prayer to the full moon, which had tried to save the sea god by casting its light upon the priest's face.

" 'You can save him,' the moon told the woman. 'But the life of a god requires a heavy price. Will you pay it, human child?'

"The woman said she would pay any price to save the god. So the moon told her to cut her own skin on her arms or her legs, and to feed the blood to the sea god. Unlike gods, humans were created with the blood of the very first god, and to gods human blood is the rarest and most valuable of all jewels. If human blood is given to a god on the verge of death, then it is possible for that god to become a human.

"In her desperation, the woman took the fallen priest's knife and cut her own chest, just above her heart. She pulled the dying sea god close and let her own blood fall upon his lips. The moment the blood entered his mouth the sea god suddenly began to convulse and gasp. The sea behind them churned wildly as the moon was hidden by colds and the god pushed himself from her arms, stumbling upon the beach, clutching at his wounds as his blood dripped upon the sand. And as he walked he felt the pain recede with every step as his wound healed under his hands. At last the sea god straightened, healed and whole…but no longer a god of the sea. A human man now stood where once a god had been."

Tomoyo's tone grew heavier as she continued.

"But the story did not have a happy ending. For when the man who was once a god ran back to his lover to show her that he was healed, he found her lying on the sand where he had left her, her body cold and dead."

Tomoyo looked up at Kurogane suddenly.

"I will ask you the same question the man in my dream did, when the tale was finished. Why do you think the woman died?"

Kurogane gave a careless shrug.

"A life for a life. That's always the kind of a sacrifice a god would want, right?"

"That was my answer as well." Tomoyo smiled briefly. "Though not as crudely put. But when I told the man that he only shook his head. 'That may be,' he told me. 'The moon told the woman to cut her arms or legs. But the blood she gave to the god came from above her heart, and it was her heart which ceased beating.'" She stared silently up at Kurogane as he took her words in.

"So?" Kurogane said at last. "What else did this guy say?"

"Nothing else." Tomoyo placed her hand over Kurogane's. "You should return home. Someone's waiting for you, right?"

"That guy..." Kurogane looked down at her. "Did you know? Did the Sun Princess?"

Tomoyo shook her head.

"There is only so far ahead that we can see," she told him. "But I know you will be having to decide something important, and soon." She smiled gently at him. "Sakura-chan believes you will make the right choice. And so do I."

With that she turned and exited the room, leaving Kurogane alone with his thoughts.

**-o-**

When Kurogane arrived back at World's End the sky had already grown dark with clouds, nearly obscuring even the moon. There was no light to be seen anywhere save for the single candle shining in the window of his house. He knew immediately that the candle must have been placed there by Fai, and that its presence meant that Fai was still waiting there for him.

Part of him had wondered if Fai would be there when he got back or if the other man had decided to run off now that his secret had been revealed. The sight of the candle in the window made Kurogane feel suddenly relieved, even though he wasn't really sure why. Certainly it would have made things easier for Kurogane, if the idiot had run off. If Fai had gone, after all, the dragons would likely follow him and the kingdom wouldn't be in danger anymore, and Kurogane would finally have some peace and quiet. And even so, knowing all this, Kurogane couldn't help but feel relieved.

All was quiet as Kurogane entered the house. At first Kurogane wondered if he had been mistaken, if Fai had truly left after all, and then the door to the next room open and Fai stepped out. As always there was a bright smile on his face, but his once-blue eyes glittered an unmistakable gold in the candlelight.

"I'm back," Kurogane said shortly.

"You're late," Fai said, still unfailingly cheerful, the mask unbroken. "You let your dinner get cold, Kuro-rin."

Kurogane felt a sudden spike of irritation.

"Don't give me that crap," he snapped. "The kid showed you the book, right? That's why you ran off."

"Did Syaoran-kun show you the story, too, Kuro-rin?" Fai looked away from him. "It wasn't quite correct in that book, though. That's how stories are, after all." He paused and looked back at Kurogane, golden eyes seeming to almost glow in the darkness. "Would you like to hear the full story, Kuro-tan?"

"I've been hearing a lot of stories today," Kurogane muttered. Fai laughed brightly.

"But this is a good one, Kuro-sama!" Fai's gaze caught and held him, like a rabbit held by a falcon's stare. "Once upon a time — it has to be once upon a time to be a good story, right? — there was a goddess of wind who stole a pretty gem from the dragons and used it to create two twin children. Their names were in the language of the wind that no one but gods can speak, but in the tongue of humans they were named Fai and Yuui.

"They lived on the peak of the highest mountain in the west, just the two of them and their mother. Eventually the goddess of the wind chose to leave her children, but before she did she gave them one command: 'All the winds here will belong to you. But even so, you must never venture into the lower mountains. Stay here together at the mountain's peak and you will always be safe.'"

A cold breeze blew past Kurogane's face and the candlelight flickered slightly with the sudden winds.

"The two children lived in happiness for a long long time," Fai continued, seemingly unaware of the mountain winds that were beginning to rise and swirl around him. "As long as they were together, it didn't matter to them that their mother had gone or that they couldn't leave the mountain's peak. As long as they had each other, there was nothing more they could have wished for."

Fai grew silent for a moment and the wind blew harder. Even so, when he spoke again Kurogane could hear his voice clearly.

"And then one day, Yuui disobeyed the only order their mother had given. He decided to descend into the mountains to explore, and that was where he met the dragon.

"At first, Yuui was curious. The first dragon he met was very large and very old, sleeping in a patch of sun. Yuui went up to it to get a closer look, and as he did its enormous eyes opened. Yuui ran away, but it was too late. The dragon had looked in his eyes and knew what treasure was hidden there."

The winds began to howl and Kurogane found himself backed up against the wall. Still Fai's calm voice could be heard as he continued to speak.

"From then on, Yuui went down into the mountains every day. At first he only watched the dragon from afar, but eventually he went up to it and spoke with it. He thought perhaps they could be friends. He didn't know that the dragon wanted him to believe that, didn't know that the dragon was biding his time until Yuui was comfortable enough to let down his guard so that he wouldn't be fast enough to escape when the dragon finally chose to attack.

"One night, the dragon brought one of his treasures for Yuui to see and told Yuui that if he came down to the lowest caves the next morning the dragon would allow Yuui into his cave to see all his treasures. Yuui, all trusting, agreed. He returned to the mountain's peak, but before he went to sleep that night he eagerly told Fai everything that had happened."

The wind abruptly died to down to nothing. In the eerie silence left behind, all that could be heard was Fai's trembling voice.

"The next morning, Fai awoke early. He was worried about the dragon, about Mother's warning and about what could happen to Yuui. While Yuui was still asleep, Fai descended the mountain to where Yuui had promised to meet the dragon. And when he got there, hundreds of dragons were waiting for him."

Fai was shaking all over now. Though he was still staring straight at Kurogane he didn't seem to be seeing the other man at all.

"I woke up to find Fai gone. I looked all over for him, but I didn't know where he'd disappeared to. Finally I went down the mountain, hoping he'd gone ahead to wait for me. It was when I finally reached the lowest caves that I found him. They'd torn out his eye, the eye that contained the treasure, but that wasn't enough for them. They'd ripped him open completely and then just left him there bleeding."

Fai took a shuddering breath that seemed to shake his whole body.

"He wasn't quite dead when I found him. I had to stay there with him, had to watch him take his last breath, felt the winds around him die at the same moment he did. I waited there with him and held him and felt his blood on my hands, and then he died and I'm all alone, forever. And it's all my fault, because it should have been me. I'm the one who broke Mother's law. I'm the one who didn't realize what the dragons were planning."

He didn't even seem to be talking to Kurogane now. Looking at him Kurogane had the wild thought that part of Fai wasn't there at all, that part of him was still there on the frozen mountainside.

"They took something precious from me," Fai continued, staring down at his own hands. "My most precious thing, and they took it. I can't — I couldn't let them go after that. They'd taken my precious thing, so I took theirs. I called the winds to me and placed a curse on every dragon in the mountains, on all those living and those yet to be born. No matter how hard they flap their wings, the winds will refuse to rise beneath them, will refuse to bear them up into the sky. That wind is _mine_. I won't let them use it, ever again."

"So you had your revenge." As Kurogane spoke Fai's head snapped up in surprise, as if he'd completely forgotten Kurogane was even there. "And that's why you ended up sealed away."

Fai gave him a smile that looked almost sickly in the candlelight.

"Something like that," he said. "I went back to the mountain's peak after that, but they wouldn't just let me be alone. They kept coming after me. When I killed the ones that chased after me the dragons began to send all kinds priests and shrine maidens and people of spiritual power after me, and I killed all of them too. I'm a dangerous rogue god, after all. Someone had to stop me." His golden eyes flashed dangerously. "So you see, Kurogane, I really am a dangerous person."

Kurogane raised an eyebrow at the use of his full name. Fai slowly crossed the floor towards him, a cold smile on his face. He raised his head, face inches from Kurogane's, one hand resting on the hilt of Kurogane's sword.

"So will you kill me, Kurogane?" Fai asked in low tones. "You're supposed to protect the kingdom, after all. I'm the reason the dragons broke through the barrier, the reason they're coming here. What will you do now?"

Kurogane stared at him, caught by those piercing golden eyes. It was true, what Fai was saying. His very presence endangered the kingdom. Furthermore, Fai had escaped from the Shrine at World's End. As the current caretaker of the Shrine, it was Kurogane's job to be sure that everything imprisoned inside remained imprisoned. Beyond that, it had been his negligence that had allowed Fai to escape in the first place and so it was Kurogane's duty to rectify his own mistake. But with Fai staring at him like that, his eyes dangerous and his voice hopeless, Kurogane knew there was only one thing he could do.

He punched Fai across the head as hard as he could.

Taken by surprise, Fai tumbled forward and landed on his hands and knees on the floor. He stared up at Kurogane with wide confused eyes.

"Why the hell would I waste my time trying to kill an idiot like you?" Kurogane snapped. "The dragons took away someone you loved. Fine. You've had your revenge for thousands of years. Give the dragons what they want and then move on with your damn life."

Fai started to laugh, but there was no humor in it.

"That's what you would do, isn't it Kurogane?" Fai's smile was tight and painful. "When we talked about your parents, you said there was no point in dwelling on what you'd lost, that you had your own life to live."

"That's right," Kurogane said shortly.

"You can say that because you're _human_." Fai looked at him and all of a sudden Kurogane felt a rush of pure _power_ that left him unable to move, unable even to breathe. It was gone almost as soon as it came but for the first time Kurogane was truly aware of exactly what kind of power was sleeping inside Fai. "I'm a god. Gods have long lives and longer memories. When something happens to a human, no matter how painful, eventually they will start to forget. The pain will dull, the wound will scar. Gods aren't like that. We remember everything clearly and we can't forget things even if we want to." He wrapped his arms around himself as if cold. "Every time I think about Fai, I'm back there again, kneeling on the ground with his blood on my hands. It doesn't fade. It's not just a memory like a human has. I'm _there_ again, Kurogane. Every moment I remember it. No matter how hard I try, I will never be able to move past that moment. I'm always there in the snow with him. You said I've had my revenge for a thousand years? That's like nothing to me, not when Fai is dying in my hands. Another thousand years will pass and I will _still be there_, do you understand? As long as Fai remains dead, I can't remember him any other way. As long as Fai remains dead, I cannot move from that spot, even if I wanted to. That's the curse that comes from being a god, you see. The painful things never scar over. That wound will always be bleeding out, forever."

Kurogane stared down at him impassively and silence hung heavy between them.

"I was going to run," Fai said at last, his voice only a whisper on the wind. "Before you got back. I was going to run the night I escaped the jar, while you slept. But the bath was warm and the bed was warm and I haven't been warm in so long, I thought I might stay one more day. And it was just so much _fun_, being there with you, so I stayed another day, and another. I knew the dragons were coming for me. I knew you'd be in danger if I stayed too long, because if the dragons know that I've been set free then they know where I am, and who's hiding me. Even if I ran now they wouldn't just let you go. But I couldn't just run without seeing you again. I couldn't. And now it's too late." Fai suddenly stood, looking Kurogane in the face. "So you'll have to, Kurogane. Go. Now. If I'm here on the beach when the dragons come, they won't bother with you."

"I don't run," Kurogane said coldly. "You should know better than to ask."

"I can fight them here," Fai argued. "This is where I was born, my powers are strongest here."

"All of them?" Kurogane asked, unmoved. "I felt them when they broke the barrier. There are _hundreds_ of dragons coming this way. You may be a god, but dragons can still kill you."

"I'm not afraid," Fai said. There was no trace of cheer in his expression now, only an old sadness that weighed him down like a chain.

"Neither am I." Kurogane swept past him, hand on his sword. "I'm not leaving a moron like you alone. If you won't give them what they want, we'll just have to make them give up."

"Kurogane!" Fai grabbed his wrist. "You can't. They'll kill you."

"They can try," Kurogane said, grim-faced. "My grandfather killed a dragon. I'm not afraid to do the same."

"They only want me," Fai argued. "There's no need for you to-"

"Shut up!" Kurogane snapped. "If you think I'm going to just let you get yourself killed while I hide in the palace you're a bigger idiot than I thought." He shrugged off Fai's hand and continued to walk. "I'm going to bed now. You can do whatever you want, it's no business of mine. But I'll make the dragons regret it if they want to come after me or anyone in my care." He glanced back at Fai. "And that includes you, you idiot."

Without waiting for a reply Kurogane continued walking, leaving Fai staring wide-eyed behind him.

**-o-**

That night, Kurogane dreamed.

_There was snow all around, coating the rocky ground and cutting through the gray sky. The clouds were low and heavy, the haze and snow making it difficult to see anything in the distance but the bulky indistinct shapes of other mountains._

_In the midst of all this white sat Fai, curled in a ball of misery, his blue coat wrapped tightly around him like a protective shield. He was surrounded on all sides by bones. Some were large and very old, while others were smaller and still had bits of flesh or ragged remains of clothing stuck to them. His eyes were closed and there was a light dusting of snow covering him from head to toe, as if he hadn't moved in a very long while._

_A figure appeared on the horizon and Fai raised his head, blinking wearily as he shook the snow from his hair. The shape coalesced into the form of a man with long black hair, wearing dark blue robes and carrying a jar in one hand. There was a heavy sadness in his eyes._

"_Have the dragons sent you to kill me too?" Fai's voice was nothing but a thin whisper. He sounded very old and very tired. _

"_No." The man shook his head. "I spoke with them, yes, so that they would allow me up here. But they aren't the ones who sent me."_

"_Then someone else sent you after me." Fai lowered his head. "Why won't any of you leave me be?"_

"_No one sent me." The man stepped closer towards Fai, completely unafraid. "My name is Ashura. I had a dream about you."_

"_A dream?" Fai looked up again, confused._

"_Yes. A very sad dream." He held out a hand to Fai. "What is your name?"_

_There was a long pause as Fai stared at the man's hand as though it were some strange foreign object._

"_Fai. My name is Fai." _

"_Fai." Ashura smiled at him and placed his outstretched hand gently on Fai's head. "Something very painful has happened to you, hasn't it?"_

_Fai didn't answer, seeming to close in even more on himself._

"_It was my fault." His voice was muffled but clear. "It was all my fault. Why won't everyone just leave me alone?"_

"_I can't save you from that pain." Ashura knelt down so that he was face to face with Fai. "But I can help you stay alive until you meet the one who _can._ Will you trust me?"_

_Fai stared into his eyes, looking like nothing so much as a lost and broken child desperate for comfort._

"_Will you kill me?" he asked in a broken whisper. Ashura shook his head gently._

"_That won't free you," he said softly. "Fai. Listen to me. Someday, you will find the person who will be able to do what even I cannot. Until then, all I can do for you is give you the strength to wait." He held out the jar. "With my power I can seal you inside here. I promise you, you will feel no pain, no sorrow. It will only be a long, dreamless sleep."_

"_Why would you do that for me?" Fai took hold of the jar almost reverently._

"_Because you were in my dream," Ashura said simply. "And when I dreamed of you I felt everything you were feeling. I want to do whatever is within my power to help you."_

_Ashura stood then and offered Fai his hand once again._

"_Will you let me do this for you?" Ashura asked him again. "Will you trust me?"_

_Though he was shaking, Fai reached up and took Ashura's hand._

Kurogane's eyes flashed open and he sat up with a jerk, breathing hard. He could still feel the cold mournful winds churning up around him, could still see Fai curled there in the snow. He was so busy shaking off the effects of the dream that he almost didn't hear the sound of a door closing in the distance. Kurogane stared blankly at his own closed door for a moment before the significance of that sound hit him.

"That damn idiot!" Kurogane grabbed his sword and made for the door, not even bothering to put on his armor. Fai's bed was empty, the sheets neatly folded and tucked away to one side. The clothes he had been wearing the night Kurogane had met him, the ones that had been lying untouched in the corner for days, were gone. Kurogane's fist tightened over the hilt of his sword.

If Fai had decided to run, that would be one thing. But there was something stirring in the air, a strange prickling on the back of his neck and a tingling in his skin which told him that Fai had not run.

He quickly made his way out of the house, stepping out onto the beach. The sand was the same slate gray as the sky, with the rising sun only a faint light on the horizon and the falling moon barely seen through the dark clouds. The Sea Beyond was churning again, waves pounding against the sand despite the lack of wind. Fai had left no footprints to follow but even so Kurogane knew exactly where he had gone.

He was barely within sight of the Shrine when he finally saw them: dragons, everywhere, curled along the beach as far as the eye could see. They were of all types, all at least twice the height of a human or more, covered in rough scales of every color imaginable, with wicked claws and sharp white teeth. Their useless wings flexed along their backs as they stared down at the single small figure standing unbowed before them, his back to Kurogane.

Kurogane knew immediately that it was Fai. There were winds blowing around him and only around him, causing his blue coat to billow out around him. Though the coat covered his back completely, the bird tattoo could still be see glowing through the fabric. There was an aura about him that Kurogane recognized, the same one that had momentarily stopped him cold the night before. Fai's head was raised, his stance imperial, and though he faced hundreds of dragons that towered above him something about the way he stood gave the impression that it was _Fai_ who was looking down on _them._ He was speaking to the largest of the dragons, a grizzled-looking creature with cracked gray scales.

"Damn it all," Kurogane growled through gritted teeth, stepping forward with sword drawn. He wasn't going to let the idiot do this. He was not, _could_ not, stand by and let this happen without a fight.

So intent was he on Fai that he nearly missed the dragon that suddenly darted out at him from seemingly nowhere, its claws flashing out as if it intended to slice him in two. Kurogane jumped back, his sword barely managing to parry the strike.

"No one must interfere." The dragon's voice was low and hard to understand, as if it was speaking through a mouth filled with gravel. Its yellow-green scales had a sickly sheen in the half light of morning. "Leave this place or die."

"Just try it," Kurogane snapped, sword raised. The dragon hissed and launched itself at him. It was faster than Kurogane had expected but he was still able to dodge it as he raised his sword again. It scraped uselessly against the dragon's thick hide. The dragon gave a low, nasty laugh, tail lashing as it went for him again.

"Foolish human," the dragon gurgled. "Thinks to defeat a dragon with men's steel."

"Shut up," Kurogane snapped, his mind racing. He had heard the story many times as a child, the tale of how his grandfather defeated a dragon with only a sword. There had to be a way.

The dragon lunged at him once more. As Kurogane moved away from its claws it suddenly opened its mouth and let loose a blast of scalding white smoke that left Kurogane reeling, temporarily blinded. He backed up warily, sword still raised, trying his best to rely on his senses. A moment too late he dived out of the way, a spike of pain blossoming in his side as the dragon's claws raked his arm. Kurogane backed up against a tree, blood dripping down his wounded arm and staining the sand below his feet. He blinked rapidly to clear his vision, stumbling clumsily out of the way as the dragon's claws flashed out at him, slicing through the tree behind him as he moved. The dragon laughed again and Kurogane's hands tightened on the hilt of his sword.

His grandfather had killed a dragon somehow. He had to remember. Kurogane parried the next strike of the claws with his sword, gritting his teeth as he was pushed back by the dragon's overwhelming strength. In the back of his head he could hear his father's voice telling the same story over and over again.

"Silly, useless human," the dragon taunted. "So easy to kill."

Kurogane smiled grimly. The dragon pressed harder against him and all of a sudden Kurogane fell backwards, letting the dragon's claws slice the air uselessly above him as he rolled to his feet a few feet away. The dragon turned as Kurogane launched himself into the air, landing on its back. The dragon roared, wings flexing and tail lashing as it tried to shake him off. Kurogane barely kept his position, crouching low on its back as he stared hard at the back of the dragon's neck.

There it was. Kurogane grabbed onto the one of the dragon's wings with one hand to help his balance and then darted forward in a single movement, burying his sword deep in the vulnerable spot underneath the scales on the dragon's neck.

The creature _screamed_, high and feral as red blood spurted from the wound, its entire body writhing in pain. Kurogane was suddenly thrown into the air, landing hard on his back in the sand, sword jarred from his hands. The dragon lumbered towards him, blood and froth dripping from its mouth, red eyes rolling wildly. It raised itself partially onto its back legs for a moment, mouth open wide, and then it collapsed into a pile of scales and blood on the sand.

Kurogane lay still for a moment, dazed, before dragging himself to his feet. His sword lay on the ground a few feet away, just out of reach, and he could still see Fai standing facing the dragons in the distance. They were clearly coming to some kind of agreement. Kurogane reached for his sword.

And then he was abruptly knocked to the ground, a heavy clawed foot pressing against his back. A brown dragon, larger than the previous one, stood above him, pushing him down into the sand.

"None must interfere," it hissed.

"Shut…up…" Kurogane said through gritted teeth as he attempted to pull himself out from under the dragon's foot. He stretched out his hand, trying to reach the sword only a few inches away. His fingers brushed against the hilt and he tried to drag himself forward just a little bit more. If he could only reach the sword…

Pain rocketed through him as the thick claws of a third dragon _slammed_ down on his outstretched arm, claws digging into the flesh, blood pouring out onto the sand below. Kurogane couldn't bite back a cry of pain as it curled its claws around the appendage and _squeezed, _bones shattering to pieces in its grip. He tried to move forward again, forcing himself to ignore the pain as he attempted to get to his feet, and the dragon holding him down pressed him deeper into the sand. Kurogane barely managed to raise his head, staring at Fai still standing alone in the sand just in front of the Shrine at World's End.

As Kurogane watched helplessly, Fai reached up and pressed a hand against his eye. There was a flash of something gold and the winds around Fai rose like a small tornado as he held something out to the dragons with a hand clearly stained red with blood. The gray dragon reached out one clawed paw and took the golden thing from him, its mouth moving as if it were speaking, though all Kurogane could hear was a distant rumble like an earthquake. Fai took a step back, head bowed, and then spread his arms wide.

A sharp wind blew by Kurogane, cold like ice. All of the dragons suddenly raised their heads as one and roared in triumph. One by one they began to beat their wings, slowly at first, then faster and faster, the combined force of it sending sand flying in all directions and causing the Shrine at World's End to lean dangerously to one side. The dragons holding Kurogane down began to beat their wings as they stepped back away from him, the sudden wind slamming Kurogane back down into the sand before he could even think to move. Somehow, through all of this, Fai remained standing upright.

One after another the dragons began to rise into the sky, higher and higher until they were nothing but dark clouds against the sky. Soon the only living dragon remaining on the beach was the old gray one, who was still staring down at Fai.

Even though Fai's back was turned to him, Kurogane thought he saw the blond smile as the dragon raised its claws and struck him down.

Kurogane forced himself to his feet, his injured arm dangling uselessly at his side. He grabbed onto his sword with his one good hand as he stumbled weakly down the beach. The gray dragon stared down at Fai's crumpled form for only a moment more and then took to the sky after its fellows. The only sign that the dragons had ever been at World's End was the dead carcass still lying where it had fallen.

Kurogane's legs gave out under him and he fell to the ground hard. Shaking off the weakness he forced himself to his feet once more and moved forward step by painful step, his ruined arm leaving a trail of red blood in the sand. As he reached the spot where Fai had fallen Kurogane all but fell to his knees beside him.

One of Fai's eyes was gone, blood pouring from the empty socket. There was a deep gash that ran from his shoulder to his stomach and blood was pooling on the ground beneath him. In the back of his mind Kurogane heard Fai's voice from that day in the library standing before the elaborate tapestry.

"_Gods don't bleed unless they're dying."_

"You idiot," Kurogane spat. "You_ idiot._"

"That's...not nice, Kurogane," Fai said weakly as he opened his single eye, the golden pupil glassy and clouded.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" Kurogane wanted to shake him, wanted to hit him, wanted to do anything but sit there helplessly while Fai bled out in front of him.

"We made a deal," Fai said, shaking with effort. His breath was coming in short struggling gasps. "I gave them what they wanted, and they agreed to let you go."

"Who told you that was your decision to make?" Kurogane said in low dangerous tones. "Who the hell asked you to do anything like that for me? I told you, this was my fight too. Who the hell are _you_, to decide something like that?"

"I couldn't do it again, Kurogane," Fai murmured, as if in a trance. "I couldn't lose something precious again. I couldn't spend an eternity seeing you lying dead on the sand and knowing it was all my fault again."

"Bastard," Kurogane growled again. "Who says I would die that easily?"

"You think that because you're Kurogane, and you can't think any other way." Fai's hand reached up weakly to touch his. "I know better. There was no other way I could protect you but this."

"I didn't want your damn _protection,_" Kurogane said. Fai gave a laugh that ended in a wet cough. There was blood on his lips.

"I'm sorry," Fai said in a strained whisper, his smile nothing but a thin ghost on his face.

His blood was sinking into the sand and all Kurogane could see was red.

Three circles of blood for the sacrifice. His father, one arm gone, a hole in his torso so deep the white of his ribs could be seen beneath as he dragged himself the last few steps to the Shrine with the offering in his only hand. His mother, collapsed in the sand at the foot of the Shrine, coughing blood from her mouth even as she drew the sacred signs.

Fai, bleeding out in his hands. One, two, three. Blood that was marked deep in the very soul of World's End and never disappeared, that only faded. Wards that demanded blood from everyone eventually, be it demon, human or god. Kurogane's fists clenched in anger.

Fai's blood staining the sand, just another sacrifice to World's End, and once again Kurogane was only a witness to it all. He closed his eyes.

"_I will ask you the same question the man in my dream did, when the tale was finished. Why do you think the woman died?"_

Kurogane's eyes flashed open as Tomoyo's voice echoed in his mind. Above him, he could see that the moon had finally dipped below the clouds and the sun was rising higher to meet it.

"_When the time comes, the thing you'll regret most is if you don't do anything."_

Kurogane reached for his dropped sword.

"Kuro…gane…" Fai's voice was weak and feverish.

"Shut up," Kurogane said, grasping the sword with his good hand. Carefully he held it against one of the wounds on his broken arm, which was still bleeding sluggishly. As soon as the steel touched it the wound began to bleed anew, fresh blood dripping to the ground and mingling with Fai's blood. Fai's eye widened.

"No…don't.." He batted weakly at Kurogane's arm. "Kurogane…don't…"

"If you weren't in this bad a shape I would hit you right now," Kurogane said darkly. "You want to be the hero and save my life? Fine. But I'm sure as hell not just going to stand by and watch you." He held the bleeding arm inches in front of Fai's face. "Drink."

"No." Fai turned his face away.

"It wasn't a request," Kurogane growled. "Drink."

"You'll die," Fai said, struggling for each word.

"You don't know that."

"Kurogane, I _can't_…."

"Shut up!" Kurogane was shaking with pain and anger. "I told you. I don't die that easily."

"But-"

"Trust me, damn it!" Kurogane snapped. "You don't want to see anything precious to you taken away again, not if you could do something about it? Fine." He looked Fai full in the face. "Neither do I."

Fai stared at him for a long moment, wide-eyed and lost. Kurogane met his gaze evenly and finally, Fai smiled.

Kurogane held his arm out again, and Fai drank.

**-o-**

The sun shone in Kurogane's eyes and he blinked drowsily as he sat up in bed. His wounds were still sore but he felt as if his strength was finally returning. He slowly stood, leaning briefly against the wall for support as he crossed the floor on bare feet. His injured arm had been bandaged and was held in a sling until the bones could heal, as he knew they would eventually.

The bones would heal, but Kurogane knew instinctively that he would never be able to move that arm again.

It would be a bother, certainly, getting used to the fact that what had once been a useful arm was now just dead meat attached to his shoulder. It would make performing his duties even tougher. But even so, given the choice again, Kurogane knew that he would make the same decision.

The adjoining room was empty and the front door had been left open, but Kurogane didn't feel worried. He stepped outside into the sunshine and began to walk along the beach. The Sea Beyond was as quiet as usual and the sand shone all pinks and reds in the bright sunlight. There was only the mildest of winds blowing. It was a warm, natural wind from past the Sea, not the chill mountain winds that he remembered from the day before.

As he neared the Shrine he saw that the dead dragon was still lying upon the shore, a drooping mess of dried blood and old scales. Later on he would try and see if he could get any more blood out of it, for use the next time the wards grew weakened, but there was no need of that for now. The previous wards were still holding strongly and Kurogane was not in the mood to make any more sacrifices, not right now.

He found Fai right where he had expected the blond to be, standing near the Shrine at World's End and staring down at the deep red blood stain in the sand. Wind and sand had already mostly covered up any traces of Kurogane's blood but Fai's remained deeply ingrained there, a wound so deep it left a permanent scar upon the land. Like the three circles of blood that were used to strengthen the wards Fai's blood was etched deep in the very heart of World's End now and Kurogane knew that the stain would likely remain there forever, to mark the spot where a god had died and a human had been born.

Fai was wearing the same blue furisode he had worn that first morning, the sleeves still torn from where the demon had caught him. He'd tied his blond hair back with a ribbon and his feet were bare. An eye patch covered the spot where his left eye had been. He looked up as Kurogane approached, his one good eye a clear bright blue in the morning light.

"Kuro-sama." A smile worked its way onto his face, strained and thin but still genuine. "Shouldn't you be in bed? Your wounds…"

"I'm fine," Kurogane said shortly. "I could say the same about you."

"They've all healed now," Fai said. One hand pressed lightly against the eye patch. "All but this one, anyway. I don't mind it." His gaze lingered on Kurogane's useless arm and a shadow passed over his features.

"Don't say it," Kurogane said warningly.

"You shouldn't have done that for me," Fai said. Kurogane gave a disgusted snort.

"Idiot. I told you not to say it. If it was something I'd regret, I would never have done it in the first place."

"I suppose not." Fai turned back to stare at the sea. "It still feels like my fault."

"It's not," Kurogane said, annoyed. "And if it is, then _your_ eye is _my_ fault, right? So we're even now."

Fai gave a small laugh at that.

"I wanted to save you," he said quietly. "That was all. Because I couldn't save Fai." He paused, pressing a hand against his chest. The gaping wound that had been there had healed without a trace. "It doesn't hurt as much now. The memory is already fading little by little. It hurts, still…but it's fading. Is this part of being human?"

"It is."

"So now what do I do?" Fai turned back to face Kurogane, sun reflecting in his single blue eye.

"You move on, idiot," Kurogane said without malice. "You start living your damn life already. Humans don't have eternity, so we just have to live with where we are now instead of dwelling on stupid things from the past."

"I guess that's something I'll have to get used to." Fai looked back down at the sand for a long moment. "Kuro-sama…"

"What?"

"Most of my spiritual power is gone," Fai murmured. "I have a little left, but it won't be as effective as it was before. I won't be able to be as much use to you as I'd like to be." Fai shook his head. "If you want me to leave, I will. This time, I will."

Kurogane raised his fist and pressed it against the back of Fai's head, but there was no force behind it.

"Idiot. Do whatever you want."

Fai looked back up at him, wide-eyed, and finally smiled.

"In that case, I guess I should go and make you breakfast!" Fai skipped past Kurogane. "What would you like, Kuro-rin? Something sweet?"

"Hell no," Kurogane growled. "I can get my own breakfast."

"But you're injured," Fai said, patting his head like he was trying to calm an irritated dog. "Don't worry, Kuro-sama. I'll take good care of you."

"I don't want _your_ care," Kurogane muttered. Despite his irritation he made no move to pull away when Fai grabbed his good wrist and began to drag him back towards the house.

A warm wind blew past and carried Fai's answering laughter along behind it as they walked together along the shore at the end of the world.


End file.
